Columbus, under the direction of coach John Tortorella, has come into its own over the last month, following a bumpy stretch in the weeks after the trade deadline. The Blue Jackets went all in, acquiring skilled forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel from the Ottawa Senators at the deadline, as well as former Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid from the New York Rangers and goalie Keith Kinkaid from the New Jersey Devils.
The Blue Jackets went 5-7-1 following the deadline, before finally hitting their stride in late March, a run that barely clinched them a spot in the dance. In a battle with Montreal for the East's final playoff spot down the stretch, Columbus eventually clinched with a shootout victory over the Rangers on the penultimate day of the regular season.
"[Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekäläinen] deserves a lot of credit for recognizing where he thought his group was at, and they took a run," said Sweeney. "Kudos to them and their whole group for earning the right to get in and same to us for having the opportunity to play against them."
The Blue Jackets, who play a slightly heavier game than the Maple Leafs, finished as the second wild card team in the East with 98 points. During the regular season, Columbus was 12th in the NHL in scoring (3.12 goals per game), just barely behind the Bruins (3.13). The Blue Jackets were 11th in goals against (2.82).
Their special teams were at opposite ends of the spectrum, ranking tied for first on the penalty kill (85%) and 28th on the power play (15.4%).
Offensively, things have changed quite drastically in the postseason as Columbus ranks first in goals per game (4.75) and power play (a whopping 50%).
Duchene leads the Blue Jackets with seven points (three goals, four assists) in four games. During the regular season, Russian winger Artemi Panarin paced Columbus with 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists) in 79 games, while former Boston College standout Cam Atkinson led with 41 goals.
Youngsters Pierre-Luc Dubois (27), Josh Anderson (27), and Oliver Bjorkstrand (23) all hit the 20-goal goal plateau.