The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets began play as an expansion team in 2000. In their initial years, the Blue Jackets struggled, failing to win 30 games in a season until the 2005–06 season. The team qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 2009, but were swept. Columbus ultimately notched their first playoff game victory in the 2014 playoffs and five years later won their first playoff series in the 2019 playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the first team in NHL history to sweep a Presidents' Trophy winner in the first round. However, they are still the only team in the league which has never appeared in the conference finals. The Blue Jackets' name and logos are inspired by Ohio's Civil War history. The Blue Jackets play their home games at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus, which opened in 2000. They are affiliated with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.