Josh Anderson powers Blue Jackets past Lightning

COLUMBUS -- Josh Anderson had a goal and two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves when the Columbus Blue Jackets extended their point streak to three games with a 5-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.
"We controlled the neutral zone really well," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "I thought our 'D' stood in there and played with some swagger."
Scott Hartnell had an assist and his first goal in 12 games and William Karlsson, Alex Wennberg and Sam Gagner also scored for the Blue Jackets (12-5-4), who are 2-0-1 in the past three games, including a 5-3 win at Tampa Bay on Friday.

WATCH: All Lightning vs. Blue Jackets highlights
Bobrovsky lost his shutout with 2:50 left in the third when Valtteri Filppula got his fifth goal.
The Lightning (13-10-1) won their first two games after forward Steven Stamkos sustained a knee injury Nov. 15 that will keep him out approximately four months. Since then, Tampa Bay has lost three straight and four of five.
"We've got to find ourselves," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We've lost a little bit of our identity. We can't think we're going to walk into a game and get three or four [goals]. The 2-1 mentality has got to resurface."

Lightning backup goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves in losing for the first time in five games. He started the game with the lowest goals-against average in the NHL (1.50).
He had little help in front of him.
Karlsson took advantage of a neutral zone turnover for a 1-0 lead at 5:30 of the first period for his fourth goal.
Wennberg scored his fifth at 3:40 of the second off another poor play by the Lightning when defenseman Nikita Nesterov tried to clear the zone from behind the goal.
Anderson made it 3-0 at 16:00 during a delayed penalty for his seventh goal.
Hartnell got his fifth goal at 1:57 of the third period, and Gagner's eighth goal, a wraparound at 12:38, made it 5-0.

Goal of the game

Hartnell's sublime pass from below the goal line set up Anderson during a delayed penalty to the Lightning. Columbus was able to use the extra attacker to control the offensive zone, with Gagner stepping in for Bobrovsky and sending the puck to Markus Nutivaara for a shot. Hartnell took the rebound and spotted Anderson in front.

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Save of the game

Bobrovsky wouldn't yield the near post and Alex Killorn had no room to shoot after he broke behind the Columbus defense with 2:25 left in the second period and the Blue Jackets ahead 3-0.

Unsung moment of the game

Tampa Bay trailed 2-0 at 5:32 of the second period when coach Jon Cooper used his challenge to contest a no-goal call because of goalie interference caused by Lightning forward Ondrej Palat. The call on the ice stood after a review when it was ruled that Palat's actions caused Columbus defenseman Jack Johnson to collide with Bobrovsky.

Highlight of the game

The goal by Hartnell early in the third put the Blue Jackets transition on display. The play started behind the Tampa Bay net when Johnson passed ahead to Anderson, whose pass put David Savard in open space. Savard slipped the puck to Hartnell for a quick redirect.

They said it

"It's fun to be around this team now in this locker room. I'm enjoying every moment." -- Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky
"It's our own doing, really. I'd love to play against us right now in our own den. It's easy. Usually you've got to fight and claw your way to get scoring chances and get in front of the net. It's too easy right now." -- Lightning forward Brian Boyle
"It was probably one of the best periods I've seen us play away from the puck, then it created offense for us." - Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on the first period
"We knew they were going to push. We had to be the better team tonight. We did a good job of that." --Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson

Need to know

The Lightning announced before the game that forward Ryan Callahan would not play because of a lower-body injury. … Forward JT Brown (upper body) returned from a three-game absence, but the Lightning was a forward short. … Luke Witkowski went from healthy scratch after the Lightning's morning skate to the seventh defenseman. … Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman missed his ninth straight game with an upper-body injury. … Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert (upper body) sat out his fourth straight game. … Anderson had five of the Blue Jackets' 16 shots in the first period. Tampa Bay had six shots in the first. … Hartnell's goal was his first since the 10-0 win vs. the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 4.

What's next

Lightning: At the St. Louis Blues on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, SUN, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: At the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-O, NHL.TV)