Lightning hold off Blue Jackets for third straight 5-3 victory – Hockey Writers – Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning played the first two seasons of hockey. However, the Columbus Blue Jackets almost came back with four goals in the third period, but the Lightning held on for a 5-3 win. The Lightning played much better this time against the Blue Jackets, where they lost a smooth barnburner by a score of 7-6 in overtime.

Lightning Collect Third Straight Win Against Blue Jackets

The Lightning came out hot in the first half, as Luke Glendening (2) opened the scoring 3:21 into the game to take the lead by a point. Nick Paul was inches away from making it 2-0 in favor of Tampa Bay, but goalkeeper Jet Greaves closed the door with a toe back.

Tampa Bay doubled Columbus in shots on goal and quadrupled them in dangerous chances per NaturalStatTrick.

In the second half, Nyazi extended their lead to four. Paul (7) capped things off with 1:28 left in a tricky, no-look slot break to double the Bolts' lead. Then, rookie Conor Geekie caught Blue Jackets linebacker Dante Fabbro in the knee, who was ruled out for the rest of the game with a physical injury.

A few shifts later, Jake Guentzel (18) got his rebound on a chase by Paul, extending his scoring streak to seven games. After two goals, Columbus' Cole Sillinger ran into Geekie, giving the Lightning a five-minute power play. After a poor first few minutes, the second unit scored when Paul passed to Mitchell Chaffee (6) at 14:18 to close out the period.

Lightning center Anthony Cirelli left the game in the second half with an injury. However, he returned to the bench at the start of the third period.

The third period is all Blue Jackets. Mikael Pyythia (2) started the comeback with a shorthanded Sean Kuraly goal. The Blue Jackets followed with a shot by Adam Fantilli (6) less than a minute after 8:05 of the third. Sillinger (6) added a power-play marker to cut Tampa Bay's lead, but Brayden Point (21) earned the win with a point blank count.

A strong goal performance by Greeves allowed Columbus to hang on early. The Columbus netminder was dominant despite the loss, making many dangerous saves.

The Lightning return to action on Thursday when they host the St. Louis Blues at home with puck drop at 7 pm On the other hand, the Blue Jackets face the red-hot New Jersey Devils at home on Thursday night. Puck drop is at 7pm

Three Game Stars

1. Nick Paul (1 goal, 2 assists)
2. Luke Glendening (1 goal)
3. Jake Guentzel (1 goal, 1 assist)