The Blue Jackets had chances, a power play goal, and stretches where they pushed play. None of it mattered enough against Tampa Bay’s top line.
That trio kept showing up in the biggest moments, and it was the difference in a 3-1 Lightning win on a night when Columbus couldn’t quite turn effort into finish. The Jackets were also dealing with a change behind the bench, with head coach Rick Bowness out because of illness and a game-time decision.
Tampa struck first when Brandon Hagel scored with 17:03 left in the opening period, finishing a setup from Charle-Edouard D'Astous and Nikita Kucherov after Columbus had controlled the puck early. The Jackets answered before the period was over, though, and did it on the power play. Zach Werenski drew a high-sticking penalty, Kent Johnson did the heavy lifting with his stick and vision, and Matthew Knies buried it at the doorstep for his third goal of the season and first since the season opener over a month ago.
The rest of the first got chippy fast. On the faceoff after the tying goal, Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves with Scott Sabourin, and after both went off, Ryan Lomberg and Jeff Viel mixed it up on the next draw. Late in the period, the Coyle line generated a flurry of shots, but Dennis Hildeby and the Tampa skaters kept everything away from the net.
The second period belonged more to the Lightning in terms of territorial play, even if the scoreboard stayed quiet. Tampa was on the second night of a back-to-back, but it was Columbus that let the visitors control the pace. Hagel appeared to have his second goal of the night, only for the officials to wipe it out on review after ruling he had redirected the puck with a high stick.
Then came the third period, and with Sean Monahan out of the lineup and not returning, the Jackets were forced into more line shuffling. He was described as dealing with an “upper body” injury.
Tampa broke through anyway. Jake Guentzel ripped a shot through traffic with 18:54 left in the third to put the Lightning ahead, with Hagel and John Carlson getting the assists.
Columbus did get one of its best sustained pushes of the night about eight minutes in, when the makeshift line of Lorentz/Williams/Nichushkin, with Mateychuk and Jake Christiansen behind them, spent nearly two minutes in the offensive zone. The looks were there, including another Mateychuk shot that hit iron, but the Jackets came away empty.
The next shift made the damage worse. After both teams changed, Matthew Knies was stripped behind his own net, and the Kucherov/Hagel/Guentzel line cashed in again. Hagel finished the play at 12:19 left in the third, with Guentzel and Kucherov on the assists, making it 3-1.
Columbus still had a chance to claw back when Hagel took a penalty, but the power play couldn’t answer a second time. Jet Greaves was pulled with four minutes left, and the Jackets kept firing away, only to come up empty again.
Afterward, the story wasn’t about a lack of fight. It was about Tampa’s best players being better.
The Jackets had the puck often enough to build volume, but not enough quality. Too many attempts were from the outside, and too few came from dangerous areas.
Greaves, meanwhile, looked a little better than he has, with the goals against tied more to breakdowns in front of him than to anything overwhelming. He probably would have liked to stop at least one, but the bigger issue was what happened in front of him.
There was at least one bright spot worth noting: the Mateychuk-Christiansen pairing was really, really good. They tilted the ice in Columbus’ favor and stood out in a game that otherwise belonged to Tampa’s top line.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Suddenly Face Bench Uncertainty On Game Night
Rick Bowness was absent from the Blue Jackets game against the Tampa Bay Lightning because of an illness, leaving Columbus to adjust on the fly for a night when the bench looked a little different than usual. In his second season with the club, Bowness has brought plenty of experience to a young roster, and his presence behind the bench is usually part of the teams nightly routine.
Don Granato handled the coaching duties in Bowness place, giving Columbus a different voice in a game that already carried the usual stakes of an Eastern Conference matchup. For a team trying to keep its footing, any late change behind the bench adds another layer to manage, especially when it involves the NHLs oldest head coach being out of action on game night. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Let Another Home Game Slip Away In Brutal Third Period
Another home game got away from the Blue Jackets on a night when they had chances to settle in and build something against Tampa Bay. Columbus managed just one goal, from Matthew Knies, while Brandon Hagel powered the Lightning attack with two goals and an assist and Nikita Kucherov set the table with two helpers in a 3-1 loss that left the building with the familiar feeling of a missed opportunity.
Dennis Hildeby backed up the win with 28 saves, and the game stayed within reach long enough for Columbus to believe it could still turn. Instead, the third period tilted the wrong way, and the Blue Jackets were left to sort through another frustrating finish against a division opponent that did enough in the key moments to leave Columbus searching for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Suddenly Need Answers On Sean Monahan
Sean Monahans night ended early in Tampa, and the Blue Jackets suddenly have another injury situation to sort through. The veteran forward had one assist in 9:58 of ice time before leaving the game against the Lightning with an upper-body injury, a development that came in a 3-1 loss Columbus could ill afford as it tried to keep pace.
The immediate concern now is how long Monahan might be unavailable and what it means for a lineup that already had to adjust on the fly. Columbus did not have him back for the rest of the game, and with the team looking for stability up front, any absence from a center with his experience would force another round of shuffling at a time when the Blue Jackets need answers more than they need another question. [Read more 🡒]