Lightning at Blue Jackets
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to get contributions from throughout the lineup as they begin a difficult three-game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. Rookie Cedric Paquette took his turn Thursday, scoring his first two NHL goals as Tampa Bay extended its winning streak to four games with a 5-2 victory over Calgary. Injury-plagued Columbus is winless in seven games (0-6-1) after letting a third-period lead get away in a 3-2 overtime loss at Carolina on Friday.
The Lightning recorded 20 goals among 11 different skaters during their recent 4-0-0 homestand, led by four from 21-year-old Nikita Kucherov and three from checking center Brian Boyle. The Blue Jackets, who started the season 4-2-0, have not scored more than two goals in any of the last seven contests. Columbus is without its top defenseman Jack Johnson, who will be serving the second of a three-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head on Carolina’s Jiri Tlusty.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Tampa Bay), FSN Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (9-3-1): Center Tyler Johnson may have had the best homestand of anyone on the team, posting a goal and six assists with a plus-6 rating while playing with Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. Alex Killorn could return from an upper-body injury to join the top six forwards and a power-play unit which is among the league leaders at 24.4 percent. Ben Bishop (8-1-1) and Evgeny Nabokov (1-2-0) are expected to split the next two games, including the first meeting of the season at Detroit on Sunday.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (4-8-1): Left wing Scott Hartnell snapped out of a four-game point drought with two goals Friday and had a team-high six shots on goal. Center Boone Jenner also notched his first two points of the season on a pair of assists in his second game while defenseman James Wisniewski returned to the lineup after missing three contests with a broken finger. Ryan Johansen netted five goals in his first six games, but has not scored since while collecting five assists in seven games.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay D Anton Stralman has prospered from 22 minutes per game of ice time, producing nine points and a league-best plus-15 rating.
2. Columbus LW Nick Foligno boasts three goals in his last three contests and owns a team-high six overall.
3. The Lightning are 9-0-0 when RW Ryan Callahan has scored a goal after being acquired at the trade deadline last season.