National Hockey League
Tampa Bay 5, Columbus 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 4, 2017
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Tim Nowak
Attendance: 19092

TAMPA, Fla. -- Steven Stamkos scored the only goal in the shootout to lift the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-4 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, Brandon Dubinsky and Markus Hannikainen scored for the Blue Jackets while goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves. Columbus overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to force overtime.

Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos each scored in the same game for the sixth time this season while Victor Hedman picked up a pair of assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 30 saves. Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde also scored for Tampa Bay, which improved to 11-2-2 for the best start in franchise history through 15 games.

"We'll definitely take the win but we've got to close out games better," Stamkos said. "I think we sat back too much. When you have a two-goal lead at home in the third it should be automatic.''

The Lightning were able to rebound coming off a disappointing defensive effort in a shootout loss in the previous game to the New York Rangers, despite giving up four goals to Columbus.

"It's the way the NHL looks like it's going now when it's a 5-4 game and you are kind of pleased with the way your team played defensively, I never thought I'd say that,'' Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said.

Columbus head coach John Tortorella, meanwhile, liked the way his team was able to stay within the game plan after falling behind.

"It's a game that could have gone either way, I'm happy with how we stuck with it, didn't get frustrated in the third and found a way to get a point,'' Tortorella said. "Would have liked to have two.''

Jones put Columbus in front early as his shot from along the right boards deflected off the stick of Victor Hedman and popped up and over Vasilevskiy at 2:30.

Tampa Bay would answer quickly and score twice in the span of 38 seconds to take the lead. Point collected a deflected puck at the top of the crease and lifted a backhand over Bobrovsky 24 seconds after Jones scored.

Kucherov scored his league-best 14th goal of the season, taking a cross-ice pass from Mikhail Sergachev and finding the open half of the net from the right circle at 3:32.

Werenski pulled the Blue Jackets even. He was alone in front of the net and able to one-time a quick shot off a pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois from behind the goal line at 10:55.

Tampa Bay regained the lead with a power-play goal from Stamkos at the 6:20 mark of the second period, finding the half of the net open at the left circle after a cross-ice pass from Kucherov. The lead was extended to 4-2 late in the period when Gourde flipped a puck down low to Alex Killorn, who returned the favor and fed Gourde coming open down the slot for his fourth of the season with 1:59 left in the period.

The Blue Jackets came out aggressive to start the third period, putting the Lightning under pressure and struck twice in the span of 1:59 to get back even. Hannikainen scored on a wraparound at 9:46 while Dubinsky scored his first of the season at 11:45.

But Columbus was unable to take advantage of power-play chance in overtime, with Artemi Panarin denied twice by Vasilevskiy that would have allowed the Blue Jackets to complete the comeback.

"I'm greedy, I think we have an opportunity on the 4-on-3 and (Vasilevskiy) makes just a great save on (Panarin) and we have a chance to win the game,'' Tortorella said. "He makes some key saves there. That's when we need our key guys to make a play to score a goal, that's what is a little frustrating for me.''

NOTES: The Lightning held a pregame ceremony honoring the 2004 Stanley Cup championship, which was coached by current Columbus head coach, John Tortorella. ... Columbus RW Cam Atkinson missed his third consecutive game with a hip injury, but Tortorella said Atkinson could be ready to return on Tuesday when the Blue Jackets host Nashville. ... Tampa Bay RW Nikita Kucherov scored his 14th goal of the season and has not gone consecutive games this season without a goal. ... The Blue Jackets scratched D Scott Harrington, C Zac Dalper and Atkinson. ... The Lightning scratched D Slater Koekkoek, C Gabriel Dumont and C Cedric Paquette (upper body). ... Columbus LW Matt Calvert left the game in the third period after taking a shoulder-to-shoulder hit from D Dan Girardi and did not return to the game.
Top Game Performances
 
Columbus   Tampa Bay
Markus Hannikainen 2 Points Nikita Kucherov 2
Markus Hannikainen 1 Goals Nikita Kucherov 1
Markus Hannikainen 1 Assists Victor Hedman 2
N/A Power Play Goals Steven Stamkos 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Sergei Bobrovsky .889 Save Percentage Andrei Vasilevskiy .882
Sergei Bobrovsky 32 Saves Andrei Vasilevskiy 30
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Columbus 34 4 0-4 2-3 6 31
Tampa Bay 36 5 1-3 4-4 8 29
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Lightning have a W/L % of .636 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Columbus will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .750 after a loss.