There's the finish head coach Pascal Vincent has been looking for.
Boone Jenner, Erik Gudbranson, and Johnny Gaudreau scored as part of a three-goal third period as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Thursday from Nationwide Arena.
Kirill Marchenko also scored his first goal of the season.
Elvis Merzlikins made 27 saves on 29 shots.
Steven Stamkos had a two-point night with a goal and an assist. Conor Sheary also scored his first of the season.
Matt Tomkins, the former Ohio State Buckeye, made his second career start for the Lightning and made 24 saves on 27 shots. Andrei Vasilevskiy is sidelined for 8-10 weeks after undergoing back surgery in September.
The Lightning came in 7-1-1 in their last nine contests against Columbus.
First Period
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB LIGHTNING | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
Seeking a response following the 5-3 loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars on Monday, the Blue Jackets wanted to get off to a fast start.
Gaudreau came into the night amid his longest start to a season without a goal. Early into the first period, he sprung himself for a breakaway but was denied by Tomkins.
Marchenko was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the last two games. He scored his first goal of the season at 6:29. Fellow countryman Dmitri Voronkov picked up the assist, as did Cole Sillinger.
The trio of Marchenko - Voronkov - Sillinger each pick up a point. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/SDgUBUu8bI
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 2, 2023
The scoring sequence came by way of winning a face-off, converting on a turnover, and then tic-tac-toe passing to bury the goal.
Second Period
The Blue Jackets killed off a Lightning power play stemming from the 18:42 mark of the first period. Tampa Bay's power play entered the day third in the league (33.3%) and went 0-for-4 on the night.
But it's nearly impossible to keep the Lightning silent for long as Stamkos tied the game at 1-1 on an unassisted goal at 2:53 of the second period.
#GoBolts Stamkos goal pic.twitter.com/MFO2VVW2QQ
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 3, 2023
Sheary scored his first of the year at 4:42, with Stamkos picking up the assist for his second point. Erik Cernak picked up an assist on the play.
#GoBolts Sheary goal pic.twitter.com/z0xtyDQmLF
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 3, 2023
Columbus was outshot 12-6 in the second period, 23-17 for the game, and killed all three penalties in the frame to that point.
Jackets are 3-for-3 on the kill tonight, all in the second period. 21 of the last 23 overall. #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 3, 2023
Third Period
Coming off a face-off win, Zach Werenski's shot was deflected by Jenner, who scored his fifth goal of the season at 6:41. In addition to Werenski, Damon Severson picked up an assist on the play.
Boone Jenner scores his team-leading fifth goal of the campaign. Zach Werenski and Damon Severson get the assists. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/KvYrKTpcmh
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 3, 2023
Moments later, at 9:24, Gudbranson scored his first point and goal of the season to lift Columbus to a 3-2 lead. Emil Bemstrom and Adam Fantilli picked up the asissts.
Gudbranson's first from Emil Bemstrom and Adam Fantilli. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/g3pme7fbCS
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 3, 2023
Kent Johnson was benched in the third period following a turnover on the power play that nearly led to a goal by Nicholas Paul. Paul's shot just went by the left post of Merzlikins.
Gaudreau finally broke the goal-scoring drought with an empty-net goal at 17:49 to secure the 4-2 win for the Jackets. Ivan Provorov and Jenner assisted on the goal. Jenner's two-point night gives him 336 for his career, placing him in third place on the Blue Jackets franchise list as he surpasses Nick Foligno.
There it is. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/jeMM0OvmDO
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 3, 2023
Columbus outshot the Lightning 12-6 in the third period.
It was the type of game the Blue Jackets have been working towards. They scored first, trailed, and preserved through three penalty kills in the second period before finding their game with three goals in the third period for the finish.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: TBL 29-28 CBJ
- Face-off %: TBL 54.5-45.5 CBJ
- Power play: TBL 0/3-0/4 CBJ
- Giveaways: TBL 3-4 CBJ
- Takeaways: TBL 6-6 CBJ
- Blocked shots: TBL 17-22 CBJ
- Hits: TBL 10-9 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): TBL 1.39-2.02 CBJ
- Shot Attempts (CF): TBL 52-49 CBJ
- Shots on Goal (SF): TBL 21-20 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): TBL 31-21 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): TBL 11-7 CBJ
Injury Update
Patrik Laine remains on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 20 with an upper-body injury.
Next Up
The club travels to Washington, D.C., to take on the Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The road trip continues when the Blue Jackets are in Florida to battle the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday, Nov. 6, at 7:00 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
