Columbus 7, Tampa Bay 6
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 21, 2024
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees:
Chris Rooney, Corey Syvret
Linesmen:
Shandor Alphonso, Brandon Grillo
Attendance:
16260
By Field Level Media
Zach Werenski capped a career-high five-point night with his goal 1:26 into overtime, and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied for a 7-6 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Werenski, who scored when the teams combined for six goals in the second and had three assists, sent an open wrister past Lightning netminder Jonas Johansson (36 saves) to help Columbus overcome a 3-0 hole and win for the third time in four games. Sean Monahan had a goal with three assists and Kent Johnson scored twice in his return from missing 14 games due to a shoulder issue.
Nikita Kucherov had three assists for the Lightning, who struggled defensively after allowing three goals combined in winning the previous three games.
On the power play just 1:51 into the game, Kucherov got the rebound from Jake Guentzel's shot and sent the puck for Brayden Point to drill past Columbus' Elvis Merzlikins (24 saves) to open the scoring. A little more than two minutes later, Kucherov sent another rebound that Brandon Hagel buried.
The Lightning made it 3-0 with 8:08 remaining in the first. Victor Hedman's shot was deflected in by ex-Blue Jacket Cam Atkinson, who scored his first of the season.
Columbus finally answered with 6:25 left in the first. Damon Severson's shot went wide of the net but caromed off the friendly end board for Monahan to convert.
Columbus got within 3-2 just 28 seconds into the second via Dmitri Voronkov's breakaway goal. Then Johnson notched a power-play goal from the circle to tie it at 1:55 into the period.
Tampa Bay regained the lead 16 seconds later when Mitchell Chaffee batted in the rebound of Conor Geekie's shot. But a little more than 1:30 later, Columbus made it 4-4 on Werenski's wrister. Columbus took the lead via Yegor Chinakhov's breakaway score at 5:26 of the period.
Tampa Bay, though, tied it when Anthony Cirelli scored on the transition with 12:52 left in the second.
Columbus went ahead on Johnson's short-handed goal with 8:21 left in regulation. But the Lightning answered again, while still on the same man advantage, Geekie redirected Gage Goncalves' shot into the top right corner.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Tampa Bay |
|
Columbus |
|
Nikita Kucherov 3 |
Points |
Zach Werenski 5 |
|
Mitchell Chaffee 1 |
Goals |
Zach Werenski 2 |
|
Nikita Kucherov 3 |
Assists |
Zach Werenski 3 |
|
Conor Geekie 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Kent Johnson 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
Kent Johnson 1 |
|
Jonas Johansson .837 |
Save Percentage |
Elvis Merzlikins .800 |
|
Jonas Johansson 36 |
Saves |
Elvis Merzlikins 24 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Tampa Bay
|
30 |
6 |
2-2 |
0-1 |
2 |
36 |
| Columbus
|
43 |
7 |
1-1 |
0-2 |
4 |
27 |
Upcoming Games
-
Columbus will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Lightning have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .500 after a loss.
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