Sergachev's first two goals lift Lightning over Jackets
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Mikhail Sergachev scored the first two goals of his NHL career and the Tampa Bay Lightning cruised to a 2-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in an early season battle of Eastern Conference front-runners Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.
The 19-year-old Sergachev had a goal in each of the first two periods and Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy posted his first shutout of the season with 43 saves.
Lightning sharpshooter Nikita Kucherov finished with two assists but failed to score a goal for the first time this season, ending his seven-game streak. Steven Stamkos, who entered the game tied with Kucherov for the NHL lead with 12 points, added an assist.
Tampa Bay (6-1-1), which moved into first place in the Atlantic Division, is off to its best start since going 7-0-1 out of the gate in its Stanley Cup championship season of 2003-04.
Columbus (5-2-0), which came in tied for the lead in the Metropolitan Division after the best start in franchise history, had a four-game winning streak ended at the start of a four-game homestand.
Sergachev broke through against Bobrovsky with his first goal at 17:48 of the opening period. Kucherov found the rookie defenseman just inside the blue line and he fired a slap shot that eluded the Blue Jackets goalie.
In the second period, Sergachev beat Bobrovsky again, this time when he skated in unimpeded and whistled a shot past last season's Vezina Trophy winner, who had 19 saves.
The power-play struggles continued for the Blue Jackets, who have one goal with the man advantage this season and were 0 of 3 against the Lightning.
Columbus managed only one shot on goal during a two-minute opportunity to start the second period and did not get a shot off on another power play later in the second.
The Lightning were shut out on the power play for the first time in eight games. They had tied a franchise record set in 2001-02 and matched in 2002-03 with man-advantage goals in each of their first seven games.
The Lightning pressed the action from the outset and peppered Bobrovsky with six shots on goal in the first 6:48. Then with 6:54 left in the period, a sprawling Bobrovsky turned back two point-blank shots after a turnover.
The Blue Jackets rebounded in the second period and outshot the Lightning 18-5 but couldn't solve Vasilevskiy.
NOTES: The Blue Jackets held a rare game-day morning skate at Nationwide Arena. The team waited until Wednesday morning to return to Columbus after Tuesday night's game in Winnipeg. ... Lightning RW J.T. Brown announced that he will no longer raise a fist during the national anthem. The 27-year-old pledged to work in the community to raise awareness about what he believes are racial inequality and policy brutality in America. He was the first NHL player to protest in such a fashion during an Oct. 7 game against Florida. Brown hasn't played since and was a healthy scratch against Columbus. ... Kucherov is playing a career-high 20-plus minutes per game this season. ... Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky and Lightning G Andrei Vasilevskiy both had the night off in their teams' previous game.