2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Ranking each team’s chances of winning it all

15. Columbus Blue Jackets

Why they can win: The Columbus Blue Jackets enter the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs having won seven of their last eight games. Granted, only three of them were against playoff teams, but they won two of those.

While the Blue Jackets haven’t been terrific in possession since the start of March, they’ve been very good during their current 7-1-0 run, owning the third-highest CorsiFor% in the league during that time.

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been fabulous since the start of March, posting a 10-5-0 record with a save percentage of over .920. He obviously has some concerns in the postseason. But Bobrovsky has never entered in the playoffs with this much confidence. He’s won two Vezina Trophies, so despite his postseason history, he’s fully capable of carrying the Blue Jackets.

Why they might lose: Poor Blue Jackets. You gave up all those assets to go all-in to make the postseason. And then you have to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ask the New Jersey Devils how giving up draft picks and prospects just to lose to the best team in the conference worked out for them.

The scary thing is the Lightning are even better than they were last season. Columbus doesn’t commit penalties and they have strong goaltending. So they could pull off a massive upset. But I don’t see it happening. The Blue Jackets will make it interesting, but they will still be without a playoff series win after the first round.