from Diana C. Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times,

“We lost,” Steven Stamkos said. “In the playoffs, if you don’t accomplish the goal of winning it all, it’s a failure. We don’t care what happened in the regular season.”

more on the Lightning...

from the CP at TSN,

Sullen and speechless, the Tampa Bay Lightning had little explanation for how they followed up a glorious regular season by getting bounced from the playoffs with record-setting haste.

The Columbus Blue Jackets capped a stunning sweep of the Presidents' Trophy winners with a 7-3 victory Tuesday night. Tampa Bay became the first team in the expansion era, which began in 1967-68, to go winless in the first round of the playoffs after leading the league in points during the regular season.

And what a season it was. Tampa Bay tied the NHL record for wins with 62 and amassed 128 points, fourth in NHL history.

"Yeah, it sucks," said Lightning forward , who had 128 points in the regular season but was kept off the scoresheet until Tuesday night.

"Nothing was our way in the series," he said. "I don't know what to say."

continued

from Craig Merz at NHL.com,

The Columbus Blue Jackets won a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the first time by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

The Blue Jackets are the first team to sweep a Presidents' Trophy winner in the first round. It is the third time a Presidents' Trophy winner has been swept (Detroit Red Wings, 1995 Stanley Cup Final; Calgary Flames, 1988 Smythe Division Final).

"They're the ones that deserve it, the fans," forward Cam Atkinson said. "We're working our tails off, but they've been waiting for this moment a long time."

continued

Below, watch the series rewind and Nick Foligno post-game.