TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning scored a pair of goals by 1:37 of the first period, and center Jake Guentzel and defenseman Victor Hedman scored two goals each and Tampa controlled and defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-2, on Monday evening.
Lightning forward Mitchell Chaffee redirected a shot from defenseman Emil Lilleberg for a 1-0 lead just thirty seconds into the contest.
Then, after a Blue Jackets’ turnover, Guentzel retrieved the puck and passed it across the ice to forward Nikita Kucherov, who rushed it toward Columbus goalie Elvis Merzilikins and used the five-hole for a 2-0 lead at 1:37.
Hedman and Guentzel scored two goals each and Hedman provided an assist on Guentzel’s first goal of the evening.
“You can start on your toes and get pucks in the net,” said Hedman. “I thought we did the same in the second period. We went and got two quick ones there, so we want to do that and keep this happening.”
Backup goalie Jonas Johannson had a quality evening in stopping 31 shots and turning the Blue Jackets away on three power plays.
“In the end, he was making all the saves he should and when we did feel stress, he was there for us,” commented Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. “It’s tough when you go for such a long time and not see game action and then, you just get thrown right in.”
Tampa Bay struck for goals by Guentzel and Hedman early in the second period. The Lightning center scored his 28th goal of the season just 1:27 into the second period as Hedman and Brayden Point passed out the complementary assists.
Hedman scored his second goal of the evening, as he was unassisted from inside the left circle at 6:36. He later scored on the power play as he shot from high above the circles at 9:54.
That power play marker was a welcomed sight after the Lightning were 0-for-6 on the power play in the 2-1 loss at Florida on Monday.
who is fifth in the NHL with a 25.2 percent conversion rate.
“We played some very good hockey yesterday (vs. Florida),” commented Hedman. “A bounce in there we could have gotten a point in that game too, but to come back and win this game was big for us.”
Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski scored both Blue Jackets goals as he cut the score to 2-1 at 17:20. He added a shorthanded score at 10:49 to cut the Bolts’ lead back to 4-2.
Tampa Bay stopped Columbus’ 4-game win streak as the Jackets opened the game two points ahead of Detroit and New York for the first wild card position in the Eastern Conference.
“I think it was a testament to playing good defense against a very good offensive team, noted Lightning defender Darren Raddysh. “We made them play in their end for most of the game, so I think that was the key tonight.”
