Tampa Holds Off Columbus for Game 3 Win

Tampa Bay Lightning v. Columbus Blue Jackets

Game 3 – Series Tied 1-1

 

Game Recap:

Coming into Game 3 both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets look to take the 2-1 series lead, and in the first period the Lightning would give the Blue Jackets several opportunities to take the lead as they would take three penalties to give the Jackets three powerplay opportunities, including a two-man advantage. However, despite some good looks for the Jackets, the Lightning would shut them down and with less than five minutes left in the first Alex Killorn would net his second of the Playoffs to give the Lightning the 1-0 lead.

In the first period the Jackets would out shoot the Lightning 10 to 8 and have 21 shot attempts to Tampa’s 15. The Blue Jackets need to find ways to get pucks through the Lightning defense, especially in the offensive zone because Tampa has been doing a really good job of cutting down on the quality of the shots from Columbus. Creating more of a net presence would be good for the Jackets too as that would create some more chaos in the slot. Pat Maroon did a good job of establishing that for the Lightning early on, despite taking the roughing penalty.

 

In the third period the the Jackets would strike early as Riley Nash would score 1:49 into the period to tie the game at one. Both teams would trade powerplay opportunities, but neither team would be able to capitalize on them. With five minutes left in the period Brayden Point would bury the rebound into the wide open net to retake the one goal lead, and them with a little over a minute left Victor Hedman would score coming down the slot to give the Lightning the 3-1 lead heading into the intermission.

In the second period the Jackets were out shoot 16 to 4, and did not establish themselves in the Tampa zone. Columbus has also struggled to utilize their powerplay to their advantage, and if they look to get back into this game, both their powerplay and their five on five play will need to improve. Tampa just needs to keep plugging away, and creating chances in the slot area like they have on their previous two goals.

 

In the third period Eric Robinson would score 97 seconds into the period, and for the second period in a row would score on the first shot of the period for the Blue Jackets, but it would not be enough as the Lightning would hold off the Jackets for the 3-2 victory and take the 2-1 series lead.

Despite the hot start again, it was another flat period for Columbus as they only generated three shots on goal compared to Tampa’s 10 for the period. In Game 4 on Monday the Blue Jackets will need to put more offensive pressure on the Lightning and push the play more. The third period featured no powerplays, but Columbus’ powerplay needs to connect when given the opportunity.

 

Lineups:

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Ondrej Palat — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn — Anthony Cirelli — Tyler Johnson

Barclay Goodrow — Yanni Gourde — Blake Coleman

Pat Maroon — Mitchell Stephens — Cedric Paquette

Victor Hedman — Zach Bogosian

Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak

Mikhail Sergachev — Kevin Shattenkirk

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched: Mathieu Joseph, Carter Verhaeghe, Alexander Volkov, Braydon Coburn, Jan Rutta, Luke Schenn, Scott Wedgewood

Unfit to play: Steven Stamkos

 

Columbus Blue Jackets:

Alexandre Texier — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Oliver Bjorkstrand

Nick Foligno — Boone Jenner — Liam Foudy

Gustav Nyquist — Alexander Wennberg — Riley Nash

Eric Robinson — Devin Shore — Emil Bemstrom

Zach Werenski — Seth Jones

Vladislav Gavrikov — David Savard

Ryan Murray — Dean Kukan

Joonas Korpisalo

Matiss Kivlenieks

Scratched: Gabriel Carlsson, Adam Clendening, Scott Harrington, Stefan Matteau, Markus Nutivaara, Kevin Stenlund, Veini Vehvilainen

Unfit to play: Cam Atkinson, Nathan Gerbe, Elvis Merzlikins, Josh Anderson, Brandon Dubinsky

 

First Period:

 Penalty – 7:07 – Zach Bogosian 2 minutes for Tripping

Penalty – 7:41 – Blake Coleman 2 minutes for Slashing

 Goal – 15:48 – Alex Killorn (2) from Anthony Cirelli (1) & Zach Bogosian (1)

 

End of 1st – TB 1          CLB 0

Shots:             08                 10

Hits:               10                 06

Faceoffs:       07                 12

Powerplay:  0/0                0/3

 

Second Period:

 Goal – 1:49 – Riley Nash (1) from Gustav Nyquist (2)

 Penalty – 3:08 – Victor Hedman 2 minutes for Hooking

Penalty – 5:52 – Alexander Wennberg 2 minutes for Holding

 Goal – 14:16 – Brayden Point (4) from Ryan McDonagh (3) & Nikita Kucherov (4)

 Goal – 18:53 – Victor Hedman (1) from Cedric Paquette (1) & Carter Verhaeghe (1)

 

End of 2nd – TB 3          CLB 1

Shots:             24                 14

Hits:               22                 12

Faceoffs:       19                 22

Powerplay:  0/1                0/4

 

 

Third Period:

 Goal – 1:37 – Eric Robinson (1) from Alexander Wennberg (1) & Gustav Nyquist (3)

 

End of 3rd – TB 3          CLB 2

Shots:             34                 17

Hits:               35                 19

Faceoffs:       23                 27

Powerplay:  0/1                0/4