2014 series memories still fresh
Nick Foligno will never forget the roar.
On April 23, 2014, Foligno scored 2:49 into overtime, giving the Blue Jackets a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series. It was the Jackets’ first playoff win at Nationwide Arena.
The moments leading up to the goal — a blocked shot by R.J. Umberger, a neutral-zone dive by James Wisniewski to swat ahead an errant pass, then Umberger’s behind-the-back pass that sprung Foligno with speed — are all part of Foligno’s memory. But … “I’ve never, ever heard a building like that,” Foligno said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that in all my playoff years.”
When Foligno saw his puck knuckle past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, he dropped to his knees, basking in the decibels as he slid across the ice until getting mobbed by his teammates.
“Unbelievable feeling,” Foligno said. “The most unbelievable feeling I’ve had in hockey, just the magnitude of it, our fans getting to celebrate at home.”
Until the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Blue Jackets’ high-water mark was a Game 4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the 2009 playoffs.
Think about that: the franchise highlight until three seasons ago was a game the Blue Jackets lost.
But the Blue Jackets changed that in 2014, pushing the Penguins to six games and providing some indelible memories.
The first came in Game 2, when Blue Jackets left wing Matt Calvert delivered the franchise’s first playoff win with a goal at 1:10 of double overtime.
Like Foligno, Calvert remembered every detail.
“(Brandon) Dubinsky wrapped it around to Cam (Atkinson), Cam shoots low pad on Fleury,” Calvert said. “The puck came to me on the other side so quick, I wasn’t expecting it.
“I shot it off (Fleury’s right) pad the first time, and he put it back to me, so I shoved it high. That’s the moment that freezes in time for me.”
Calvert said the reality didn’t really hit until he spun around — in a hush-quiet arena in Pittsburgh — and saw his teammates coming in “for a full body pile.”
Calvert and Foligno both kept the winning pucks, leaving them back home in Canada until they get their “man caves” finished and worthy of such memorabilia.
Dubinsky also created a lifelong memory in that series, scoring a goal with only 22.6 seconds remaining in regulation in Game 4.
Fleury inexplicably came out of his net to play a puck, leading to a turnover forced by Ryan Johansen, who fed Dubinsky in the slot from behind the net.
It forced overtime, which made Foligno’s goal possible.
“It’s a fun goal because you remember the atmosphere,” Dubinsky said. “I have a great picture where fans are hugging and kissing and everything else, so that kind of makes it cool.”
But Dubinsky didn’t keep the puck. He’s not all that interested in keeping the memory, either.
He’s ready to create new ones.
“Frankly, we didn’t win anything that year, so it didn’t really matter; it wasn’t a defining moment or anything like that,” Dubinsky said. “We’re not looking back at that series. We’re looking ahead to this one.
“It’s going to be amazing in Nationwide. We’re jacked up. We’re excited.”