Top 10 moments from Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

It was the best first round ever witnessed, with countless storylines emerging from what was truly a historic couple of weeks — like zero of the four top seeds emerging, constant debates surrounding referees, wild card chaos, and the fact that millions around the world were forced to throw their brackets in the fire early on.

Having a hard time wading through all the chaos now that the dust has settled? Well lucky for you we’ve compiled ten of the most memorable moments from Round 1.

Don’t @ me, though.

10. Welcome to the show, Cale Makar!

The twenty-year-old Makar did more in one weekend than most people can accomplish in three lifetimes. I did two loads of laundry last weekend and took a nap and thought I was good.

Makar became the first NHL defensemen in history to make their debut in the playoffs and score.... what like it’s hard? It’s no wonder the kid was trending worldwide too, he deserves all the happiness and alcohol-free celebrations until he turns 21 in October!

9. Mitch Marner, shot block extraordinaire

Disclaimer: There won’t be anymore positive Leafs moments on this list, this was a spectacular one that we should all cherish.

Leaf fans... let’s just soak in the happiness of this glorious clip for a second before we go back to reality.

8. Gavin DeGround

When someone said “break a leg” Gavin DeGraw took it quite literally. The anthem singer got carried away with his goodbye salut and face planted, just like the catfish tossed on that very same ice. Gavin almost broke DeJaw.

7. Schwartz’s home run goal

So apparently Jaden Schwartz has been taking lessons from the Cardinals hitting coach. With 15 seconds remaining in the third, Schwartz hits a walk-off homer sending the Blues back to St. Louis with a 3-2 series lead. More to come on Schwartz’s epic first round...

6. The Drake Curse

Fitting that this is number 6... but come on Drake, you know better. The 6ix God himself showed up to Scotiabank Arena for Game 4 and darkness immediately fell upon the Leafs.

We even tried to reverse it, but no bueno. Now Playing - “I’m Upset”.

5. Hamilton the Pig

This pig almost turned me vegetarian. Almost. Hamilton is the hottest sensation in North Carolina right now, and rightfully so — bringing good fortune to a team that went 3-0 when he was on site. Sadly he wasn’t named after Dougie Hamilton, as his owners chose the name on the pun of “ham”, but I still love him and will not eat bacon as often.

4. Jaden Schwartz’s natural hatty

Jaden Schwartz, again! He became just the second player in NHL history to score a natural hat trick in a series-clinching postseason game and is now the mayor of St. Louis, officially. He singlehandedly sent the Jets home for the summer and did so in dramatic fashion.

3. Brock McWinn

Talk about another legendary performance when it matters. First, McGinn saves the Canes’ playoff dreams on this heroic defensive effort.

Then, one-and-a-half overtime periods later, he wins it for the Bunch of Jerks against the defending champions. This whole series was outstanding, so it’s all included in this segment. This was just the icing on the cake.

2. The Tampa Bay Lightning

What do I even say here? It was the most historic collapse of all time. Millions of people, including yours truly, tossed their brackets into the dumpster after four games. Tampa was arguably one of the best NHL teams of all time, and they got swept, by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here’s a montage of the craziness.

Cue the epic Game 1 comeback. Columbus was trailing 3-0 by the end of the first period, and most of us thought it was over. NAH. Tampa crumbled, Columbus completed the comeback, and they never looked back.

The next three games were all Columbus, leading to a historic first ever sweep of a Presidents' Trophy winning team in the first round. The Blue Jackets’ Twitter feed was fire, deservingly so.

One of my favourite moments was the dramatic, cringeworthy breakup text sent from the Lightning to their fans. But really, is there a right thing to say in this moment other than WTF?

I can’t wait to tell my grandkids all about the Tampa Bay Lightning collapse of 2019.

1. 4:01

It was astonishing. The most incredible comeback in NHL history... with an asterisk. There was a controversial penalty call leading to a record-breaking four power play goals in 4:01.... you can’t script this stuff.

There’s no way in hell this was a 5 minute major, and even the NHL agrees. They have since apologized to the Golden Knights for their blunder, which changed the dynamic of the game drastically. Not that this really helps anyone in Vegas feel much better — if anything it’s more infuriating.

Anyway, back to the greatest NHL comeback of all time now that I’ve explained the asterisk. #ForPavs was all the inspiration the San Jose Sharks needed to rip home four PP goals late in the third.

And finally, the final series stamp in overtime with STYLE.

I think the San Jose Sharks might be invincible after completing a feat like this. I’m excited to see more incredible hockey in the second round, but it’ll be hard to top what we’ve witnessed so far.

And one honourable mention: The crying Bruins kid. Just because I am heartless and need to jab the Bruins once. It’s okay, he’s seen 100 Boston championships already in his lifetime.

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