Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning Online Live Streaming Now
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Game 4 Prediction, Stanley Cup Playoff Odds
The scoreboard may not entirely show it at the moment, but the Tampa Bay Lightning are starting to take over against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Thanks in large part to an absolutely dominant second and third period performance on Saturday, the Lightning were able to hold on for a 3-2 win to take a 2-1 lead in their First Round matchup.
When you look at these two teams on paper it is not hard to see which one has the superior talent.
That is not meant as any disrespect to a fierce Blue Jackets team that has given the league fits this season and is a worthy playoff team and a worthy opponent for any NHL contender. It is simply the fact that Lightning roster is loaded with All-Stars and individual award winners. It is, by almost every objective measure, a great team and has been for several years now. None of that mattered last year when the Blue Jacket stunned them in a four-game sweep, and it had not yet mattered through the first two games of this series that resulted in a split and a lot of saves from Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Hockey can be funny sometimes like that.
How to Watch NHL PLAYOFFS Live Stream Online Without Cable
How to Watch NHL PLAYOFFS Live Stream Online Without Cable
But on Saturday night the Lightning really started to show some of flashes of dominance they are capable of when everything is clicking, and they finally started to break through the wall that Korpisalo has constructed around his net.
The Lightning received goals from Alex Killorn, Brayden Point, and Victor Hedman in Saturday’s win, with the latter two coming during a second period onslaught that saw Tampa Bay begin to shift the game — and maybe the series? — in its favor.
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Point’s goal extended his current point streak to six consecutive games and snapped a 1-1 tie, while Hedman followed it up with a goal of his own just a few minutes later.
In Game 3, the Lightning did just enough offensively to find a way to get the win and grab the 2-1 series lead. Tampa Bay was outshot 10-8 in the opening period Saturday but took a 1-0 lead to the dressing room at the first intermission. Alex Killorn opened the scoring with his second of the postseason at 15:48 of the period off assists from Anthony Cirelli and Zach Bogosian. The second period saw the Lightning with a 16-4 advantage in shots on goal and a 2-1 edge in goals to take a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of action. After Columbus tied the game early in the stanza, Brayden Point gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead with his fourth of the postseason at 14:16 off assists from Ryan McDonagh and Nikita Kucherov. Victor Hedman made it a 3-1 game with his first of the playoffs at 18:53 off assists from Carter Verhaeghe and Cedric Paquette. The third period saw Tampa Bay with a 10-3 edge in shots though they gave up the lone goal. Tampa Bay did enough defensively to make the lead hold up over the final 18-plus minutes. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 15 saves in the win for the Lightning, who held a 34-17 edge in shots in the contest.
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