Schedule and 2019-20 Results
Regular Season Records: Tampa Bay 43-21-6=92pts, Columbus 33-22-15=81pts
Game 1 on Tuesday, 11 August: Columbus loses at Tampa Bay, 3-goals-2(5OT)
Game 2 on Thursday, 13 August: Columbus wins at Tampa Bay, 3-goals-1
Game 3 on Saturday, 15 August: Tampa Bay wins at Columbus, 3-goals-2
Game 4 on Monday, 17 August: Tampa Bay wins at Columbus, 2-goals-1
Game 5 on Wednesday, 19 August: Columbus loses at Tampa Bay, 5-goals-4(OT)

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 5: The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted and defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-goals-4 (OT) to complete a 4-games-1 best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1420 victory. With the series 1420 win, the Tampa Bay Lightning improve their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record to 15-10 overall and 7-5 in the Preliminary round. With the series 1420 loss, the Columbus Blue Jackets see their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record fall to 1-6 overall and 1-5 in the Preliminary round. The win order for the victorious Tampa Bay Lightning in series 1420 was WLWWW: Series 1420 thus becomes the 13th NHL Preliminary-round series, the 39th NHL series (all rounds), and the 83rd MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. The Tampa Bay Lightning trailed the pseudo-visiting Columbus Blue Jackets by two goals as late as 12:00 into the third period but prevailed: In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff games from 1939 through 2019, inclusive, home teams down two goals as late as 12:00 into the third period had a game record of only 10-369 (.026) - the Tampa Bay Lightning thus achieve a grade-A in-game comeback. With their series 1420 victory, Tampa thus avenges its sweep loss to Columbus in the 2019 NHL Preliminary round.

After Game 4: The Tampa Bay Lightning visited and bested the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-goals-1 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1420 lead of 3-games-1. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-1, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a series record of 6-0 and a Game 5 record of 5-1 (with an active five-Game 5 winning streak). When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 3-games-1, the Columbus Blue Jackets have a series record of 0-1 and a Game 5 record of 0-1.

After Game 3: The Tampa Bay Lightning visited and bested the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-goals-2 to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1420 lead of 2-games-1. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a series record of 7-3 (with an active four-series winning streak) and a Game 4 record of 5-5 (with an active four-Game 4 winning streak). When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Columbus Blue Jackets have a series record of 0-1 and a Game 4 record of 1-0. The only previous best-of-7 NHL playoff series in which the Columbus Blue Jackets trailed 2-games-1 was series 1223, in the 2014 NHL Preliminary round against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After Game 2: The Columbus Blue Jackets visited and defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-goals-1 to knot best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1420 at 1-game-all. When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a series record of 8-6 and a Game 3 record of 8-6, while the Columbus Blue Jackets have a series record of 0-2 and a Game 3 record of 1-1. Columbus trailed on the road by one goal as late as 12:51 into the first period, but won series 1420 Game 2: In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff games from 1939 through 2019, inclusive, road teams down a goal as late as 12:51 into the first period had a game record of only 233-649 (.264). With the Game 2 victory in series 1420, Columbus extends its best-of-7 NHL playoff Game 2 winning streak to four straight.

After Game 1: The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted and defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-goals-2 (5OT) to take a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1420 lead of 1-game-nil. When leading a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a series record of 7-2 and a Game 2 record of 5-4. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Columbus Blue Jackets have a series record of 0-4 and a Game 2 record of 2-2. In their last six best-of-7 NHL playoff series in which they've led 1-game-nil, the Tampa Bay Lightning Game 2 outcome presaged their series outcome (four wins, two losses). Series 1420 Game 1 was decided by a goal 10:27 into the fifth overtime period, just 94 seconds short of the longest best-of-7 format NHL playoff game ever (series 806 Game 4, in which the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Penguins in Pittsburgh 2-goals-1 at 12:01 into the fifth overtime period of their 2000 NHL Quarterfinals game). Series 1420 Game 1 becomes the longest best-of-7 NHL playoff game ever won by a home team.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2019-20 NHL regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning finished eleven points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. From 1939 through the 2019 NHL Finals round, when NHL teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by eleven regular-season points, they have posted a best-of-7 playoff series record of 14-12 (.538) in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1420 is the 25th best-of-7 NHL playoff series for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the seventh for the Columbus Blue Jackets. In best-of-7 NHL playoff series, the Tampa Bay Lightning have an all-rounds series record of 14-10, a Preliminary-round series record of 6-5, and a Game 1 record of 9-15, while the Columbus Blue Jackets have an all-rounds series record of 1-5, a Preliminary-round series record of 1-4, and a Game 1 record of 2-4. Series 1420 is the second best-of-7 NHL playoff series meeting between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Series 1420 is a rematch of series 1386 (in the 2019 NHL Preliminary round), in which the Blue Jackets notched an upset sweep against the Lightning despite trailing Tampa Bay by thirty regular-season points.