Offense Breaks out as Lightning beat Jackets 7-2

After being shutout 4-0 against the New York Rangers on Sunday, the Lightning responded in a big way with a 7-2 win on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The seven-goal outburst tied for the Lightning’s season high in goals.

The win marked the first win of 2022 for the Lightning and the first win in their last four games. Tampa Bay was steady in all parts of their game and were able to take advantage of a struggling Blue Jackets team for an important two points on the road.

Let’s break down what happened.

1. Powerplay Heats Up

The Tampa Bay Lightning offense got going early on and the powerplay played a big part in the offensive outburst. Tampa Bay scored three goals on the powerplay including two in the first period. The goals came in a variety of ways including a pair of goals from the second powerplay unit as Corey Perry and Pat Maroon were in the right place to slot home rebounds at the front of the net. The powerplay also opened the scoring in the first period with Ondrej Palat scoring on the rush thanks to a burst of speed from Brayden Point to get the play started.

2. Back and Forth in the Second

After ending the first period up 3-0, the play really opened up in the second period. Both sides traded goals as four total goals were scored. Columbus was able to create more chances than they did in the first but surrendered their share of chances as well. Brayden Point pounded home a one-timer off a great feed from Cal Foote and Pat Maroon added the third powerplay goal as Tampa Bay was able to answer both Columbus goals and maintain a three-goal lead heading into the final period.

3. Point and Palat Heat Up

Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat both ended the night with three points apiece. Point assisted on both on Palat’s first period goals and Palat assisted on Point’s goal. In his four games since returning from injury on December 28th, Braden Point now has eight points over that stretch. These two may heat up even further with reinforcements coming soon with Nikita Kucherov’s return now on the horizon.

4. Palat’s 400th Point

Ondrej Palat will never get enough credit for how good he is. With his second goal of the game, Pally recorded the 400th point of his NHL career, all with Tampa Bay. Once the third guy on Tampa Bay’s famed “Triplet” line, Palat has quietly carved out a spectacular career for himself. You’ll never hear his name thrown around with the top guys associated with the Lightning’s recent run of success, but he can be counted on night in and night out to do all the little things you need on a championship team. 400 points in the show for a guy who is often an afterthought on this team is quite a feat.

5. The Reset Button

After going three games without a win, including a couple of lopsided scores, the Lightning were due for a reset. All aspects of the Lightning game were better on Tuesday night, and they were rewarded for it big time on the scoreboard. While the offense finally broke out again, the defense was solid as well. With the big lead in the third period, the Lightning did not loosen up at all and did not allow anything for Columbus. They only allowed seven shots on goal in the final period and added two goals of their own, earning the 7-2 victory on the road.