COLUMBUS -- Ryan McDonagh sat in the silent Tampa Bay Lightning dressing room, where his teammates spent a few moments of quiet, frustrated contemplation before leaving for the offseason.
How could this happen? How could a Lightning team that had amassed 128 points and 62 victories, to earn a share of the all-time NHL record for wins, lose in four swift games to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the last wild card in the Eastern Conference and a team that finished 30 points behind them?
How could a team that seemed destined for a Stanley Cup see it swept aside?