The Tampa Bay Lightning arrived in Columbus already dealing with a short bench, and the absences kept piling up. Brayden Point was out with an injury, and on Thursday the Bolts also had to get through the game without Anthony Cirelli, Erik Cernak, and Yanni Gourde. None of it stopped Brandon Hagel from taking over.
Hagel scored twice, Jake Guentzel added a goal and an assist, and Nikita Kucherov set up two more as Tampa Bay skated away with a 3-1 win over a Columbus team that kept pressing but couldn’t finish enough chances. Dennis Hildeby got the victory in net, turning aside 28 of 29 shots. The only puck that beat him came on a Columbus power-play goal by Matthew Knies.
Columbus came out with the early edge in puck possession and spent much of the opening minutes in the Lightning zone. But Tampa Bay struck first on one of its cleaner looks.
After a strong transition through the neutral zone, Charle-Edouard D’Astous got a shot through. Jet Greaves stopped the initial try, but Hagel was alone in the slot and tucked the rebound under the goalie.
With a patchwork lineup, Tampa Bay leaned into a simpler approach. The Lightning chipped pucks out, got shots when they were there, and tried to keep Columbus to the outside in their own end. That style fit the lead well enough, even with the Blue Jackets holding the puck for long stretches.
The game turned when Ilya Mikheyev got his stick up on Zach Werenski and sent Columbus to the power play. The Blue Jackets may not have a feared man-advantage unit, but Tampa Bay’s penalty kill didn’t stop the puck from crossing the line.
Kent Johnson sent a pass to the crease, Matthew Knies had his stick on the ice, and the puck went in. It was Knies’ twelfth goal in his last thirteen games against the Lightning, and his first goal since October 1.
After that goal, the physical edge picked up. Scott Sabourin and Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves, and Jeff Viel and Ryan Lomberg followed with more of a wrestling match than a clean fight.
The pace settled after that, though Columbus still had a dangerous moment when a strange bounce off the boards left Hildeby scrambling. Charle-Edouard D’Astous bailed him out with a blocked shot.
Tampa Bay’s best period came in the middle frame, even though the score stayed tied. The Lightning had the puck more often and piled up chances, with Greaves making a big stop on Hagel early after another rebound chance. Hagel later appeared to score on a deflection, but the goal was waved off because his stick contacted the puck above the crossbar.
By the end of the second, Tampa Bay had 11 shots and six high-danger chances in the period. Columbus managed only five shots on goal and three Grade A chances at the other end.
The third period opened the way Coach Jon Cooper probably wanted, with the Z.I.P. line doing its job. Zemgus Girgensons won the face-off, the puck stayed in the zone, and after a long cycle Tampa Bay changed and got Guentzel on the ice. Guentzel found space in the slot and snapped a shot past Greaves, who got a piece but not enough to keep it out.
Columbus answered with a push and even hit iron, but Tampa Bay buried the game with another Hagel finish. After absorbing a sustained stretch of pressure and a lot of shots from distance, the Lightning got back in the zone and Kucherov fed Hagel, who swept the puck home from a tough angle.
The Blue Jackets still had chances late, especially with Greaves pulled, but Hildeby closed the door. He stopped Werenski and Knies in the final minute to seal the win and keep Columbus from extending the rally.
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