A three-game winning streak brings the Tampa Bay Lightning (3rd in Atlantic Division) to the last contest of their latest six-game homestand, with the Columbus Blue Jackets (8th in Metropolitan) paying a visit on the back of a shutout defeat in Sunrise.
The season-high-matching winning streak of the Columbus Blue Jackets (10-16-2) once again stopped at two games after the team embarked on its current three-date road trip with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday. The Jackets killed all three of their penalties, but conceded one snipe in the opening frame, two more in the second and an empty-netter with 1:46 remaining on the clock, as Columbus was outshot 26-22 and went 0-for-3 with the man-advantage, ultimately being blanked for the second time this season. The Jackets are 2-4-0 in their last six matchups.
Goalie Elvis Merzlikins turned aside 22 shots on Tuesday and has now gone 4-8-0 for the season with a 4.68 GAA and a .864 save percentage. He has picked up a 3-4-2 previous total versus Tampa Bay with a 2.47 GAA and a .921 save percentag e, while Daniil Tarasov (2-3-1 on the year with a 3.17 GAA and a .912 save percentage) has lost his only previous outing against the Lightning, conceding five snipes on 39 shots (.872 save percentage). The Blue Jackets are sitting 7th in least goals scored per game in 2022-23 (2.86), 2nd in most goals given up on average (4.07), bottom of the league in power play (14.1%) and 18th in penalty kill (78.3%).