Brayden Point tipped in a pass from Victor Hedman in overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning stayed perfect through three games with a 3-2 win over Columbus in the Blue Jackets’ home opener on Thursday.
Hedman rushed out of his own end, started a give-and-go pass with Steven Stamkos and slid a pass to Point for the game winner in close at 1:56 into the 3-on-3 extra session.
Tampa Bay, which played just its third game after postponements against Dallas (COVID-19 protocol) on Sunday and Tuesday, received goals from Blake Coleman and Mathieu Joseph.
Ryan McDonagh assisted on both goals in regulation, giving him 301 points for his career. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy moved to 3-0-0 by stopping 23 of 25 shots, including a 2-on-zero break in the first 24 seconds of overtime.
Playing in front of entirely empty stands in their first home game, Columbus got a goal and an assist from Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Nick Foligno netted on the power play.
Joonas Korpisalo made 34 saves on 37 shots for Columbus, which lost its second consecutive 3-2 overtime game.
The matchup marked the first meeting since the Lightning eliminated Columbus in six games in the Eastern Conference first round of the playoffs in September.
