Everyone watched as records and hearts would be broken
On August 11th, 2020, I had been home for almost five months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. My desk set-up was in the corner of my little apartment, and next to that, was my Television. I was able to turn my chair easily to see the t.v., so watching the CBJ game against the Tampa Bay Lightning would be easy to do. Little did I know, I would spend my lunch break, and dinner sitting in that same chair, watching the same game, for six hours.
Today is the 3rd anniversary of that game, where were you?
I think everyone knew this series was going to be good, and it was, despite the outcome. Other than game two, which the CBJ won 3-1, every game would be decided by one goal, and two of the games went into overtime. After the historic upset in 2019 and this series, it was safe to say that a rivalry was brewing between these two teams.
Joonas Korpisalo thrust himself into the NHL spotlight on this day/night by making 85 saves. Korpisalo broke the modern-day record of 73 set 33 years prior. The all-time record is 92, set in 1936. Korpisalo faced 88 shots in total and had a final save % of .966. The Lightning peppered Korpisalo an average of almost 19 times a period. The Lightning absolutely refused to let up. In the end, however, it would be shot 88 that sealed the game for the Bolts. Brayden Point wristed one past Korpi to end it. What a sad ending for the team who just poured everything they had into a single game.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP_g1S9w4i0 title=[/embed]
The stats for this game were just astounding. The game lasted 6:13, starting at 3:09 pm and ending at 9:22 pm. I literally had lunch and dinner watching this game. The teams combined for a record 151 shots, 88 by Tampa, which is also a record. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 61 saves for the Lightning.
The two teams combined for 105 hits, there were 138 faceoffs but only 14 penalty minutes. The Jackets blocked a whopping 62 shots to the Lightnings 30 and the teams combined for 31 takeaways and 49 giveaways.
The CBJ leader in time on ice was defenseman Seth Jones who played 65 minutes, which broke an NHL record for most ice time in one game. The Lightning leader for TOI was Victor Hedman who had 57 minutes. Both Korpisalo and Vasilevskiy played all 150 minutes of the game.
It’s hard to imagine how the players felt after this game, especially on the Columbus side. The Blue Jackets did go out and win game two a couple of days later, however. It turned out to be a really good series and Tampa would go on to win the Stanley Cup. In fact, they would go on to win the 2021 Cup as well. Had it not been for Columbus stopping them in 2019, we could be talking about a 3-peat for the Lightning. They also played in the 2022 Cup Final, it seemed that Columbus had created this juggernaut after beating them.
August 11, 2020, will live on in Columbus Blue Jackets lore, there’s no doubt about it.
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.