Coming off three straight games without a win, the Lightning arrived in Columbus, Ohio, looking to turn the page.
With players in and out of the lineup due to COVID-19 protocols, the Lightning have struggled to find tempo. Coach Jon Cooper said it will take time for even the team’s best players to be themselves after being unable to skate while away from the team.
But come puck drop Tuesday at Nationwide Arena, the Lightning came out of the gate quickly and beat the Blue Jackets, 7-2.
The Lightning skated with speed, charged to the front of the net, created traffic in front of Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and executed their shot-and-scramble game well — all facets that were absent in their 4-0 loss to the Rangers on Sunday.
They also received a boost from their power-play unit, which matched their season-high with three goals. The Lightning entered Tuesday 4 for 29 on the power play over their previous eight games.
Playing well in front of the net was key. Corey Perry and Pat Maroon scored power-play goals on rebounds from in close, and the second of Ondrej Palat’s two goals came on a redirection in front of the net.
During their winless stretch, the Lightning didn’t clog the front of the net or take the opposing goalie’s eyes away. But Palat’s deflection of Ryan McDonagh’s shot on net skipped off the ice through the slot and past Korpisalo.
Palat’s second goal gave him 400 career points, making him the seventh player in Lightning history to reach the milestone.
Perry put the Lightning up 3-0 with a power-play goal with 2:33 left in the first period, cleaning up a loose puck in front for his third goal in the past five games.
After going without a goal in his first 17 games with the Lightning, Perry now has nine in his past 18 games, including three on the power play.
After Columbus scored 37 seconds into the second period, Brayden Point responded with his 11th goal of the season on a slap shot from the high slot. Point, who also set up Palat’s first goal by speeding through the neutral zone and drawing attention before passing off to Palat, had a three-point game.
The Lightning answered Columbus’ second goal with Maroon’s power-play score with 7:31 left in the second. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored 36 seconds into the third period, and Alex Killorn’s goal with 7:40 left put the Lightning up 7-2.
