Tampa Bay Lightning (26-10-2, second in the Central Division) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (14-18-8, seventh in the Central Division)
Columbus, Ohio; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Columbus takes on Tampa Bay looking to end its three-game home skid.
The Blue Jackets are 14-18-8 against division opponents. Columbus averages only 2.7 penalties per game, the fewest in the NHL. Scott Harrington leads the team averaging 0.3.
The Lightning are 26-10-2 against the rest of their division. Tampa Bay is third in the Nhl averaging 3.4 goals per game, led by Steven Stamkos with 16.
In their last meeting on April 1, Tampa Bay won 3-2. Brayden Point scored a team-high two goals for the Lightning in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Oliver Bjorkstrand leads the Blue Jackets with 14 goals, adding 17 assists and totaling 31 points. Seth Jones has three goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Columbus.
Victor Hedman has 36 total points while scoring seven goals and totaling 29 assists for the Lightning. Yanni Gourde has 7 points over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jackets: 3-6-1, averaging 1.7 goals, 3.1 assists, 2.5 penalties and five penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game with a .918 save percentage.
Lightning: 6-4-0, averaging 2.8 goals, five assists, 3.7 penalties and 7.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.
INJURIES: Blue Jackets: Riley Nash: day to day (lower body).
Lightning: Curtis McElhinney: day to day (undisclsoed), Erik Cernak: day to day (lower body).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by
