@jayRecher
Steven Stamkos scored two goals, reached the 100-point mark for the first time in his career and Victor Hedman recorded his 600th NHL point as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.
Stamkos' first goal came on the power play at 16:47 of the 1st period to put the Lightning ahead 2-1 and give him 99 points on the season. Hedman picked up the secondary assist on the play, notching his 600th point in his illustrious NHL career. The team put together an incredible video package that you can see BELOW!
Stammer's second goal to make it 3-1 came after a slick pass from Nikita Kucherov -- who also assisted on his first goal -- at 7:29 of the second. As soon as the goal was scored, the crowd jumped to their feet and cheered loudly for their captain. A graphic on the big screen then followed, and the cheers got louder & louder. (VIDEO BELOW)
Kucherov got the party started with a goal just 97 seconds into the game. Tampa Bay's star winger snapped one past Columbus netminder Elvis Merzlikins from the high slot for his 24th of the season to put the Lightning up 1-0.
That lead didn't last long, however, as Columbus' Oliver Bjorkstrand scored a power play goal just 1:22 later to even the score at one apiece.
The rest of the night belonged to Stamkos, Hedman & the rest of the Lightning as the defending Stanley Cup champions inch closer to the postseason.
Ondrej Palat added his 18th of the season at 14:53 of the 3rd. Kucherov & Stamkos picked up assists on the Palat goal, giving each player four points on the evening.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves in the win for Tampa Bay. Merzlikins stopped 28 shots in defeat.
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SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
- Tampa Bay - Kucherov - (Stamkos, Paul) - 1:37
- Columbus - PPG - Bjorkstrand - (Roslovic, Werenski) - 2:59
- Tampa Bay - PPG - Stamkos - (Kucherov, Hedman) - 16:47
2nd Period
- Tampa Bay - Stamkos - (Kucherov) - 7:29
3rd Period
- Tampa Bay - Palat - (Kucherov, Stamkos) - 14:53
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PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
- Tampa Bay - Bogosian - (Tripping) - 2:13
- Tampa Bay - Stamkos - (Hooking) - 10:27
- Columbus - Gavrikov - (Holding) - 15:46
2nd Period
- Tampa Bay - Kucherov - (Slashing) - 4:58
3rd Period
- Columbus - Sillinger - (Slashing) - 0:53
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What's Next For The Bolts : The Lightning are back in action on Thursday night as they travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets. Puck drop is slated for 7:00pm with the pregame show starting at 6:30pm on NewsRadio WFLA & Lightning Power Play on the iHeartRadio app.
Photo: Getty Images North America
PHOTO : Getty Images