OT goal keeps Lightning undefeated
Brayden Point scored 1:56 into overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Thursday night for their third straight win to begin the season.
Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Joonas Korpisalo traded great saves in extra time before Point tapped in a pass from Victor Hedman.
Blake Coleman and Mathieu Joseph also scored for the Stanley Cup champions, and Vasilevskiy had 23 saves.
Nick Foligno tied the game for the Blue Jackets 47 seconds into the third period. Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored and Korpisalo stopped 34 shots as the Blue Jackets slipped to 1-2-2 in their first five.
It started out well for the Blue Jackets, who were celebrating their 20th home opener, albeit in front an empty house in Nationwide Arena.
Bjorkstrand scored the fastest goal in the history of the franchise, beating Vasilevskiy on the glove side just 21 seconds into the game. He got help from Max Domi, who stripped Hedman in the neutral zone and set up Bjorkstrand’s goal from the right circle.
Coleman responded 16:33 into the second period, getting an easy tipin goal off a slot pass from Ryan McDonagh. Joseph beat Korpisalo with a onetimer from the slot 83 seconds later to give the Lightning their first lead of the night.
Foligno tied it again seven seconds into a power play when he redirected a Bjorkstrand shot. ISLANDERS 4, DEVILS 1 >> Jordan Eberle scored twice, Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists and Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves as New York beat visiting New Jersey.
The Islanders improved to 3-1-0, while the Devils lost for the first time in regulation, falling to 2-1-1.
Varlamov has all three Islanders’ wins, allowing only one goal. That came early in the second period by forward Nathan Bastian, who ended Varlamov’s seasonopening shutout streak at 142 minutes and 10 seconds, the eighth-longest in NHL history to begin a season. JETS 4, SENATORS 1 >> Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves and Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Blake Wheeler each scored to help Winnipeg win at Ottawa.
Winnipeg opened the three-game series Tuesday night with a 4-3 overtime victory in Ottawa. They will meet again Saturday night in Winnipeg.
Chris Tierney ended Hellebuyck’s shutout bid with 2:57 left.
The Jets improved to 3-10. The Senators are 1-2-1. BRUINS 5, FLYERS 4 >> Jake DeBrusk scored the lone goal in the shootout to lift host Boston past Philadelphia.
Nick Ritchie had one goal and one assist, while Brandon Carlo, Jack Studnicka and Charlie Coyle also scored goals for the Bruins. David Krejci added two assists.
STARS EAGER TO PLAY >> The Dallas Stars are finally set to open their season, more than 10 months after playing their last home game, nearly four months after losing the deciding Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final and a week after every other NHL team got back on the ice.
The Stars’ return comes after 17 players tested positive for COVID-19, even though most were asymptomatic.
Their first four scheduled games, all on the road and including an early Stanley Cup Final rematch with Tampa Bay, were postponed. That came after the NHL revealed Jan. 12, two days before their anticipated opener, that the Stars accounted for well more than half of the 27 players among nine teams that tested positive during the abbreviated two weeks of training camps. The defending Western Conference champions now open at home tonight against Nashville.
“Right now, listen, we’re all ready for a game,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said after practice Thursday at their home arena. “We’re ready to play an opponent, play against somebody other than our own teammates. We want that excitement, we want that adrenaline going ... then we’ll manage it from there.”