Lightning 2, Blue Jackets 1
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Center Brian Boyle scored a short-handed goal in the third period and the Tampa Bay Lightning held on for a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday before 12,494 in Nationwide Arena.
Boyle took a pass from center Alex Killorn and sent a bullet of a slap shot past the glove of Blue Jackets rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo at 6:13 for his eighth goal of the season.
The Blue Jackets came within inches of scoring the tying goal with less than three minutes remaining when the puck got behind Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop in a scramble in front of the net and stopped underneath him on the red line.
Bishop finished with 25 saves and Korpisalo had 27 in the first of three meetings this season.
Lightning center Jonathan Marchessault scored the first goal of the game in the second period and the Blue Jackets tied it on a goal by center Brandon Dubinsky later in the period in a battle between the offensively challenged teams.
Marchessault ended the scoreless duel at 11:11 of the second period after a turnover by Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg resulted with the unassisted goal against Korpisalo. Marchessault's point-blank slap shot was his third goal of the season.
Dubinsky scored the equalizer for the Blue Jackets at 16:46 of the second period. Left winger Matt Calvert made a nifty backhanded centering pass from behind the net directly to Dubinsky, who sent a backhander past Bishop from in front of the net.
Korpisalo made his NHL debut for the Blue Jackets. The 21-year-old from Finland was recalled from Lake Erie of the American Hockey League on Wednesday after goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky suffered a groin injury and was placed on injured reserve.
Korpisalo is playing his first full season in North America and was 5-4-2 with a 2.12 goals-against average and a 9.28 saves percentage with two shutouts for Lake Erie. After goalie Curtis McElhinney started the last two games for the Jackets, he was given the night off. He is 0-5-2 as a starter this season.
The Lightning appeared to score first at 13:05 of the first period, but center Steven Stamkos was ruled to have kicked the puck past Korpisalo into the net and the score remained 0-0.
Later in the opening period, Korpisalo blocked a point-blank backhander from center Alex Killorn in front of the net and Bishop made a similar save on a shot from close range by Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner.
Korpisalo turned aside all 10 shots he faced in the first period, which ended with Blue Jackets left winger Scott Hartnell and Lightning right winger Ryan Callahan squaring off in front of the benches. Both received five-minute penalties for fighting to start the second period.
The Lightning have struggled to score this season. They led the league in goals last season on the way to the Stanley Cup Finals but came into Monday's game ranked 27th, averaging 2.33 per game.
NOTES: The Lightning recalled RW Joel Vermin and C Yanni Gourde from Syracuse of the American Hockey League. Tampa Bay also called up G Andrei Vasilevskiy, who played for Syracuse on Friday and Saturday, and reassigned G Kristers Gudlevskis. ... Injury-plagued Tampa Bay was without C Tyler Johnson (undisclosed), LW Jonathan Drouin (lower body), LW Ondrej Palat (lower body), C Cedric Paquette (upper body) and RW Erik Condra (lower body). Drouin, Palat and Paquette are not with the team during its three-game road trip, which continues Tuesday night in Toronto. ... Lightning G Ben Bishop had given up two or fewer goals in 13 of his past 15 games and his 1.96 goals-against average ranks second in the NHL. ... C Steven Stamkos, the Lightning's leading scorer with 22 points, had not scored in eight consecutive games entering Monday night. ... Columbus injuries include G Sergei Bobrovsky (lower body), D Cody Goloubef (broken jaw), RW Rene Bourque (upper body) and RW Markus Hannikainen (shoulder). ... Blue Jackets G Curtis McElhinney sat out Monday, but he's expected back in the lineup on Tuesday night when Columbus plays in Dallas against the Stars. McElhinney took over the primary goaltending duties from Bobrovsky, who is expected to be out three weeks. ... Columbus' last four home games had gone into overtime, with the Blue Jackets winning just once.