COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ondrej Palat had two goals and an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning trounced the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-2 on Tuesday night to break a three-game losing streak.
Brayden Point added a goal and two assists for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who scored three power-play goals. Corey Perry and Patrick Maroon each had a goal and an assist, Anthony Cirelli contributed two assists, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Alex Killorn also scored.
Gus Nyquist provided a goal and an assist for an illness-ravaged Columbus team, which dropped its fourth in a row against the Lightning. Dean Kukan also scored for the Blue Jackets.
Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 shots in his 17th win, tying Frederik Andersen of Carolina for the NHL lead.
Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves for Columbus in his first start since Nov. 27, a span that included a stint in COVID-19 protocols.
Palat put Tampa Bay ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal 34 seconds into Sean Kuraly's first-period penalty, beating Korpisalo at 4:53. Palat's second goal — and 400th career point — came off the redirection of Ryan McDonagh's shot from the point at 9:30.
Perry made it 3-0 with the Lightning’s second power-play goal at 17:47.
Kukan made the most of his first game since Oct. 27, scoring 34 seconds into the second period to put Columbus on the board. Just 59 seconds later, Point upped the Lightning lead to 4-1 with a drive from the left circle.
Nyquist got the Blue Jackets within two again on his seventh goal of the season at 4:16, but Maroon made it 5-2 with Tampa Bay’s third power-play goal only eight seconds into Columbus’ fourth penalty of the night.
Bellemare scored on a shot from the right side 36 seconds into the third. Killorn made it 7-2 at 12:20.
UP NEXT
Tampa Bay hosts Calgary on Thursday.
Columbus visits New Jersey on Thursday.
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