The Lightning were not at their best during the opening 40 minutes, but they entered the second intermission in a 2-2 tie. Then in the third, they took over the game. They netted goals sixteen seconds apart and added an empty netter to secure the victory.
After the game, Lightning players acknowledged that their play lacked emotion in the first two periods. This is understandable — the Lightning have secured a playoff berth and were facing a team near the bottom of the standings. They were sloppy with their puck play and unable to dictate action for any extended amount of time. Interestingly, the shots were very close in each of the two periods (21-20 in favor of Tampa Bay). But the Blue Jackets had the more dangerous scoring opportunities. Kirill Marchenko netted goals off the rush, Sean Kuraly hit the post, and Justin Danforth had two in-alone chances. The Lightning made a couple of isolated plays to tally their first two goals. Off the rush, Nikita Kucherov set up Brayden Point for a left-circle one-timer at 16:31 of the first. In the second period, with the Lightning trailing 2-1 and on their first power play of the game, Kucherov wired a cross-ice pass to Steven Stamkos. The puck was close to Stamkos’ skates, but the Lightning captain still managed to lift a one-timer into the top of the net at 14:17.
Third-period shots were even, 12-12. But like the shot totals from the first two periods, those numbers don’t accurately tell the story of how the frame unfolded. The Lightning took the lead back for good when Anthony Cirelli finished a rebound at 5:40. After the ensuing center-ice faceoff, Brandon Hagel re-entered the offensive zone and set up Stamkos for a one-timer from the slot that beat Jet Greaves high on the stick side at 5:56.
The Lightning controlled play for a majority of the final 14 minutes. Stamkos completed his hat trick (and earned his fourth point of the night) when Kucherov fed him for an empty-net goal at 17:57.
The Lightning now have four games remaining in the regular season. They face another non-playoff team on Thursday when they host Ottawa. They’ll look to bring emotion into that game from the get-go.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Steven Stamkos — Lightning. Hat trick and assist.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 30 saves.
- Emil Lilleberg — Lightning.
