TAMPA, Fla. — The Lightning’s patience paid off Thursday night against the Blue Jackets.
Tampa Bay had trailed Columbus since halfway through the first period, but a third-period goal gave the Lightning the edge they needed to close out a 3-1 win at Amalie Arena.
Columbus (15-25-9, 39 points) opened the scoring in the first with a power-play goal from defenseman Seth Jones.
Forward Patrik Laine set up forward Oliver Bjorkstrand just above the right faceoff circle. Bjorkstrand then shuffled out the puck to Jones at the blue line, and the defenseman fired off a shot at Lightning goalie Curtis McElhinney for the 1-0 lead with 10:24 remaining.
The Lightning (31-14-2, 64 points) couldn’t find any momentum in the first after Columbus scored. They were held to just five shots on goal (all of which came before the Blue Jackets’ power-play opportunity) in the first, failing to register another shot for the remaining 11:35.
Both teams were held without a goal for most of the second until Yanni Gourde stole the puck from Laine in the neutral zone. Gourde sped up and slid the puck across the ice to Blake Coleman, who stood just above the right circle and brought his stick back for the shot.
Coleman’s shot bounced off the left goal post before trickling in behind goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to tie it at 1 with 5:09 remaining.
In the third period, Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak brought the puck down the right side of the ice and took a shot on Merzlikins. Forward Alex Killorn collected the rebound and shuffled it out to Ondrej Palat, who scored for the 2-1 lead with 11:46 remaining. Coleman added an empty-netter with 24.8 seconds left.
The Lightning’s win puts them ahead in their series against the Blue Jackets, 4-3. The two teams close out their series Sunday at Amalie Arena.
