The Lightning traded for Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow at the trade deadline with an eye on what they could bring to the team in the playoffs. On Monday, their line with Yanni Gourde, along with Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, gave the Lightning a win in Game 4.
The third line has been Tampa Bay's most consistent of the postseason and contributed both goals in the 2-1 win over Columbus at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena.
The Lightning were outplayed in the first period, but escaped with the score still tied at zero _ thanks to an offside challenge to invalidate a Columbus goal. Gourde's line started the second period, as it had the first, and this time struck quickly.
Gourde lost the faceoff _ the Lightning were 12-of-42 on the game _ but the Lightning got possession of the puck. They didn't have a set play on the entry, but rimmed the puck off the boards and got into position deep in the zone.
The puck bounced off the boards to Coleman at the post. He didn't have an angle on the shot, with goaltender Joonas Korpisalo right there. So Coleman chipped the puck across to Goodrow, who was crashing the net from the other side. Goodrow landed the shot above Korpisalo's outstretched blocked 16 seconds into the period.
That line struck again four minutes later. Coleman crashed the net with the puck, but it was knocked away. While Gourde planted himself in front of the net. Goodrow tipped the loose puck over to Kevin Shattenkirk, who ripped off a one-timer. Gourde deflected the shot past Korpisalo.
Cam Atkinson got the Blue Jackets on the board less than two minutes after that. Pierre-Luc Dubois chipped the puck up high, and it bounced off Atkinson in front of the crease. Atkinson, while trying to avoid Vasilevskiy, got his stick on the puck and knocked it past the goalie.
Vasilevskiy appeared to complain to the officials about the contact, but the Lightning chose not to try another challenge.
