TAMPA BAY-- The Tampa Bay Lightning scored goals in each period & four power play goals in the game to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 8-2 on Saturday night. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves while center Brayden Point & forward J.T. Miller recorded three points apiece.
After failing to score in the final two periods in their last game against Vancouver, Tampa Bay came out & grabbed a 1-0 lead when a feed by forward Tyler Johnson from the side of the net redirected right to Defenseman Victor Hedman, who after a first attempt, slammed it past Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Leading 1-0 the Lightning got a chance to add to the lead when Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois was called for hooking center Steven Stamkos. The power play proved to be unproductive as the Lightning did not register a shot on goal.
Columbus, who did not get their first shot on net until nearly seven minutes were gone in the game, got their first power play opportunity of the game when Point was called for slashing. And the Blue Jackets had multiple point blank shots including shots from forward Anthony Duclair & center Artemi Panarin. But Vasilevskiy pushed those shots aside & even got some help from defenseman Anton Stralman, who blocked a shot just outside the crease.
At the end of that penaly kill by the Lightning, center Yanni Gourde jumped on a giveaway & fed center Cedric Paquette, who from inside both circles, shot the puck past Bobrovsky, making the score 2-0. And after Blue Jackets center Lukas Sedlak was whistled for holding, Gourde got his second point of the period when he jumped on a puck in front of Bobrovsky, who took the initial shot from the point by defenseman Mikhal Sergachev off his chest, but was unable to control the rebound. And Gourde, who was stationed in front of the net, slapped the loose puck up high in the back of the net, giving the Lightning the power play goal & the 3-0 lead.
Tampa Bay outshot Columbus 12-9 in the first period but it wasn't until Hedman was called for a four minute high-sticking penalty with just over a minute gone in the second period that either team registered a shot on net. But during that four minute penalty kill Tampa Bay was able to get two shots on net, which was the same number they allowed until the final 15 seconds of the penalty kill, which was when Columbus was able to make one final push to the net, ending in a scrum in front of Vasilevskiy.
After failing to score on the double minor power play, the Blue Jackets applied some pressure in the Lightning zone but Vasilevskiy was able to keep the puck out of his net. That is untl there was just over eight minutes gone in the period. That's when forward Josh Anderson got the visitors on the board, after taking a feed from center Alexander Wenneberg. And with just over four minutes left in the period, the Blue Jackets made it a one goal game when forward forward Oliver Bjorkstrand followed his own shot & scored an unassisted goal.
With just over a minute left in the second, Tampa Bay was being outshot 16-5 but after a giveaway by Columbus in their own end, Point jumped on a loose puck. And while standing near the right circle, the Lightning center snapped a shot past Bobrovsky for his second goal of the year.
Before the end of the period Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski was given a penalty for slashing Stamkos. That delayed penalty was not assessed until the end of the period. And it put Tampa Bay on the power play to start the third period.
Tampa Bay entered the game having not scored on the power play in their first two games of the season. But after getting their first power play goal in the first period, the Lightning picked up their second power play goal of the night when Point got his second goal of the night. And after another Columbus penalty, Tampa Bay made it a 6-2 when forward Alex Killorn got the third power play goal of the game & his first goal of the year, when he took a cross-ice feed from Stamkos & one-timed a blast into the back of the net.
The lead jumped to five goals when forward Nikita Kucherov got on the score sheet when he rushed up the ice & snapped a wrist shot for his first goal of the year.
Miller pushed the puck past the goal line with a second left in the game for another power play goal, making the score 8-2 & giving the Lightning their fourth power play goal of the game.
Tampa Bay will go for their second straight win when they host Carolina, their fourth of a five game homestand. Puck drops at 7:30PM with pregame action beginning at 6:30PM on 970 WFLA.
SCORING SUMMARY:
1ST PERIOD:
1. TBL- Hedman 1st Goal (Johnson, Kucherov)- 1:00
2. TBL- Paquette 1st Goal (Gourde)- 11:17
3. TBL- PPG- Gourde 1st Goal (Gourde, Johnson)- 18:37
2ND PERIOD:
1. CBJ- Anderson 3rd Goal (Wennberg, Murray)- 8:14
2. CBJ- Bjorkstrand 1st Goal (Unassisted)- 15:51
3. TBL- Point 2nd Goal (Unassisted)- 19:15
3RD PERIOD:
1. TBL- PPG- Point 3rd Goal (Miller, Sergachev)- 1:40
2. TBL- PPG- Killorn 1st Goal (Stamkos, Miller)- 7:12
3. TBL- Kucherov 1st Goal (Palat, Coburn)- 13:02
4. TBL- PPG- Miller 1st Goal (Point, Stralman)- 19:59
PENALTY SUMMARY:
1ST PERIOD:
1. CBJ- Luc DuBois (Hooking)- 3:06
2. TBL- Point (Slashing)- 9:14
3. CBJ- Sedlak (Holding)- 17:03
2ND PERIOD:
1. TBL- Hedman (High-Sticking 4 mins)- 1:10
2. TBL- Hedman (Holding)- 11:15
3. CBJ- Werenski (Slashing)- 20:00
3RD PERIOD:
1. TBL- Kucherov (Holding)- 3:55
2. CBJ- Atkinson (Hooking)- 6:58
3. CBJ- Panarin (Hooking)- 9:22
4. CBJ- Luc Dubois (Roughing 4 mins)- 17:56
5. TBL- Gourde (Roughing)- 17:56
6. CBJ- Savard (Slashing)- 19:24