TAMPA, Fla. — Not much has had to be said in the Lightning locker room since their loss in Winnipeg Friday night. They knew how much their own mistakes cost them against the Jets, and the defeat didn’t sit well with coaches or players.
Back on home ice Tuesday night against Columbus, Tampa Bay came out determined to play a cleaner game. There is something about being at Amalie Arena that brings out the best in the Lightning, and they rebounded well in front of their home crowd.
Right wing Nikita Kucherov, named to his fourth All-Star Game on Thursday, scored two goals and assisted on two others as the Lightning handed the Blue Jackets a 6-3 defeat.
Tampa Bay (25-13-1, 51 points) scored three power-play goals and outshot the Blue Jackets 46-23, including 21-6 in the first period.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves as the Lightning improved to 16-4-1 at home this season.
Kucherov opened the scoring, getting the puck back in the neutral zone moments after turning it over and pushing it forward. He charged to the front of the net and swatted Erik Cernak’s pass inside the near post just 1:40 into the game.
With the Lightning on the power play midway through the first, Kucherov’s slap shot from above the right circle was deflected away from the net. But his second try from nearly the same spot deflected off Nick Paul’s stick blade past Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to give Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead.
All in all, the Lightning cut down on the turnovers and penalties that cost them against Winnipeg. But a complete game it was not. Up 3-1 in the third period, the Lightning failed to score on the power play, and Columbus defenseman Tim Berni was gift-wrapped an open look from the high slot as he exited the penalty box and rifled a one-timer past Vasilevskiy.
Kucherov scored his second goal, the team’s second on the power play, after passing up a slap shot from the top of the right circle, passing to Victor Hedman but keeping his stick in the air for a return feed. Hedman obliged, and Kucherov whipped a one-timer off Merzlikins’ left skate and inside the near post.
Kucherov then found Brayden Point for his team-high 23rd goal of the season with 7:38 left in the game. Ross Colton’s goal with 6:12 remaining gave the Lightning a four-goal cushion before Kirill Marchenko got one back for the Blue Jackets less than three minutes later.
