Vasilevskiy, Lightning blank Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tampa Bay scored four goals in the first nine minutes of the second period, and the Lightning ran away from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 5-0 victory on Sunday night at Nationwide Arena.
Tyler Johnson started the scoring assault with two goals 3 1/2 minute apart early in the second period, the 100th and 101st of his career. Nikita Kucherov followed with his NHL-leading 25th of the season and Cory Conacher with his third.
Steven Stamkos added his 17th goal of the season in the third period.
Kucherov also had an assist to boost his league-best point total to 55. Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev chipped in with two assists each.
Johnson continued a torrid month with a point in his 12th consecutive game. He finished December with eight goals and a career-high 18 points, topping his previous best of 17 points in December 2014.
The Lightning (28-8-2) dominated the action after a scoreless opening period, outshooting the Blue Jackets 23-6 in the second while bouncing back from a home loss two nights earlier to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tampa Bay closed out the year with an 11-2-0 record in December. The Lightning enter the new year with the most wins (28) and points (58) in the NHL.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy posted his league-leading 25th victory and shut out the Blue Jackets for the second time this season. He finished with 21 saves.
Backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, a surprise starter for the Blue Jackets, stopped 30 of 35 shots.
The Blue Jackets (22-15-3) are going in the opposite direction of the Lightning, having lost four of their last five and six of their last eight.
Johnson's first goal came 1:22 into the second period and his second at 4:49 on a one-timer off a pass from Point in front of Korpisalo.
Kucherov made it 3-0 at 7:53 of the second period and Conacher scored the final goal of the period past a screened Korpisalo at 8:45.
Stamkos scored the only goal in the third period with assists going to Hedman, his 25th of the season, and Kucherov, his 31st.
NOTES: The Lightning swept the three-game season series. ... Blue Jackets D Zach Werenski returned Friday night after missing four games with an upper-body injury and scored his 11th goal of the season in a 5-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators. ... The Lightning recalled G Louis Domingue from Syracuse of the American Hockey League. Domingue, 25, is 9-4-0 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .911 save percentage for the Crunch this season. He also has played in seven NHL games with the Coyotes this season and is 0-6-0 with a 4.33 GAA and .856 save percentage. ... Lightning backup G Peter Budaj sustained a left leg injury during a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night. He was placed on injured reserve a day later. ... Blue Jackets F Boone Jenner played in his 300th NHL game. ... G Sergei Bobrovsky was out of the Blue Jackets' lineup after going 4-6-2 in his last 12 games.