headtopics
In a Thursday night matchup, the Tampa Bay Lightning secured a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, powered by Brandon Hagel's two goals and an assist. The win marked Tampa Bay's second consecutive victory in as many nights and their fifth in the last six games.
Jake Guentzel contributed a goal and an assist in his 700th NHL appearance, while Nikita Kucherov added two assists, following his natural hat trick in an 8-3 rout of Buffalo the previous evening. Goaltender Dennis Hildeby made 28 saves for the Lightning, becoming just the second Tampa Bay goalie, alongside Sean Burke, to earn at least one standings point in each of his first five starts with the team.
Columbus, meanwhile, extended its losing streak to three games. Matthew Knies scored his first goal since opening night, snapping a 15-game drought, and Jet Greaves stopped 25 shots in the loss.
Key Analysis
Hagel opened the scoring at 2:57 of the first period. Kucherov's assist was his 16th against Columbus since Feb. 10, 2024, and pushed his point streak versus the Blue Jackets to eight games. Knies tied the game with a power-play goal with 7:40 remaining in the first, giving him 12 goals and 19 points in 13 career games against the Lightning. The goal also triggered a pair of fights off consecutive faceoffs, with Mathieu Olivier fighting Scott Sabourin and Ryan Lomberg dropping the gloves with Jeffrey Viel two seconds later.
Tampa Bay appeared to take the lead with 4:42 left in the second period, but Hagel's goal was disallowed due to a high stick. Guentzel then put the Lightning ahead for good at 1:06 of the third period, as his shot slipped under Greaves' pads after initially looking like a save. Hagel added an insurance goal at 7:41, his fifth in three games. Columbus forward Sean Monahan left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Originally reported by headtopics.