Zach Werenski's goal in OT and 5-point game helps Blue Jackets to 7-6 win over Lightning

Published Nov. 21, 2024 10:06 p.m. ET

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zach Werenski's goal at 1:25 of overtime punctuated a five-point game as the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied from an early three-goal deficit and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-6 on Thursday night.

Werenski had tied the game at 4 in the second period and added three assists as the Blue Jackets won their second straight game. Sean Monahan had a goal and three assists and Dmitri Voronkov added a goal and an assist. Kent Johnson scored on a power play and short-handed in his first game back after missing 14 contests due to an injury sustained on Oct. 17. Yegor Chinakhov added a goal and Elvis Merzlikins stopped 24 shots.

Anthony Cirelli, Mitchell Chaffee, Brandon Hagel and Connor Geekie each had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. Brayden Point and Cam Atkinson also scored, and Nikita Kucherov finished with three assists. Jonas Johansson made 36 saves.

Takeaways

Lightning: Tampa Bay appeared to be cruising after scoring three goals in the first, but failed to hold the lead.

Blue Jackets: Columbus returned home after seven of its last eight games on the road and scored four times in the second period.

Key Moment

Tampa Bay jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period before the second turned into a shootout with Columbus scoring four times and Tampa twice.

Key Stat

Brayden Point, in his second game back from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for four games, scored a power-play goal at 1:51 of the first period—just 23 seconds into a Columbus penalty. Point has three goals in two games and is tied with Nikita Kucherov for the team lead with 11.