Tampa Bay Lightning (50-22-8, third in the Atlantic) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (36-37-7, sixth in the Metropolitan)
Columbus, Ohio; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Tampa Bay visits the Columbus Blue Jackets after Steven Stamkos scored two goals in the Lightning's 4-1 victory against the Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets are 20-25-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. Columbus is the top team in the Eastern Conference with 5.4 assists per game, led by Jakub Voracek averaging 0.7.
The Lightning are 28-15-5 in Eastern Conference play. Tampa Bay is third in the Eastern Conference with 30.9 shots per game and is averaging 3.5 goals.
The teams square off for the second game in a row.
TOP PERFORMERS: Patrik Laine leads the Blue Jackets with 26 goals and has 56 points. Jack Roslovic has nine goals over the last 10 games for Columbus.
Stamkos leads the Lightning with 101 points, scoring 39 goals and collecting 62 assists. Nikita Kucherov has 10 goals and 11 assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jackets: 4-5-1, averaging 2.9 goals, 5.4 assists, 3.3 penalties and 6.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .915 save percentage.
Lightning: 7-2-1, averaging 4.6 goals, 8.1 assists, 5.1 penalties and 13.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .923 save percentage.
INJURIES: Blue Jackets: Joonas Korpisalo: out for season (hip), Patrik Laine: day to day (upper-body), Zach Werenski: day to day (upper-body).
Lightning: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare: day to day (lower body).
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