Blue Jackets 3, Lightning 1
Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 33 shots as visiting Columbus posted its season-high third straight victory.
Boone Jenner scored a goal for the third consecutive contest while Jack Skille and defenseman David Savard also tallied for the Blue Jackets, who avenged a 7-4 loss to the Lightning on Nov. 8. Bobrovsky, who has allowed five goals during the three-game winning streak, came within 73 seconds of his first shutout of the season.
Tampa Bay, which entered even with Anaheim for the most points in the league (39), received a goal from Ondrej Palat to avoid being blanked for the first time this season. Ben Bishop made 17 saves for Tampa Bay, which saw its six-game point streak (5-0-1) come to an end.
Bobrovsky stopped all 14 shots he faced in the first period, including a point-blank attempt by Brenden Morrow, and the Blue Jackets built a 2-0 lead. Jenner took advantage of a turnover and whipped a wrist shot over Bishop’s right shoulder from the left faceoff circle at 2:37 to open the scoring.
Savard moved in from the point during a power play and unleashed a shot from the right circle that sneaked under Bishop’s arm with 7:12 to play in the opening session. Skille exited the penalty box early in the third and scored nine seconds later as his pass attempt during a 2-on-1 rush deflected off the stick of Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov and in at 4:51.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bobrovsky has stopped 109-of-114 shots in the last three games after posting one victory in his previous eight starts. … Tampa Bay RW Brett Connolly played in his 100th NHL game. … Savard has scored five goals in 26 games to match his career best from 2013-14, which was accomplished in 70 contests.