FINAL: Lightning 3, Blue Jackets 2 (OT)

The Blue Jackets dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 home opener Thursday night in Nationwide Arena.
Game in a Paragraph
It was a fast start to the home opener as Columbus fittingly scored 21 seconds into this Jan. 21, 2021, game. But the defending Stanley Cup champions slowly grabbed control of the game and scored twice late in the second period to take a 2-1 lead into the third. The Blue Jackets answered early in the third to make it 2-2, and it stayed that way until the Jackets' second straight overtime. There, 1:56 into the extra frame, Brayden Point scored for Tampa Bay to end things.

Quote of the Game
CBJ captain Nick Foligno: "I thought we generated a lot of good things. I thought our first period was dead on, so it's just disappointing to not get the result because a lot of guys gave it their all tonight, and we still have to get some others on board. We have to find a way to win hockey games here. It's five games in now, so we have to get going."
CBJ Standouts

Quick Recap
Bjorkstrand wasted little time getting the Blue Jackets on the board thanks to an assist from Max Domi, who intercepted a Tampa pass in the neutral zone and led the Jackets in a three-man break. Domi fed Bjorkstrand on the right wing, and The Maestro waited until he got low on the right to fire a shot short-side past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and make it 1-0 after just 21 seconds.
Korpisalo, meanwhile, had a strong first period and also got some help from Tampa Bay when the Bolts couldn't convert on a pair of 2-on-1s nearly back-to-back in the second half of the frame. On the first, Ondrej Palat fired wide, while on the second, Vladislav Gavrikov went spread eagle to cut off the passing lane for Alex Killorn, who could only fire meekly into Korpisalo's pad from a sharp angle.
The Blue Jackets had an opportunity to increase their lead on the first shift of the second period as Seth Jones came in on a rush but fired off the crossbar. That was about it for CBJ chances in the period as the Bolts tightened the vice and left the frame with a 2-1 lead.
First, Blake Coleman tied the score at 16:33 to complete a nice tic-tac-toe passing play off the rush, with Yanni Gourde feeding Ryan McDonagh on the right wing, and the defenseman faked a shot before reversing a pass back to the left where Coleman tapped it home from the doorstep. Just 1:27 later, Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead on another transition chance, as McDonagh fed Mathieu Joseph in the slot for a one-timer past Korpisalo's glove.
It was still a pretty good period for the CBJ netminder on the whole, though, as he gloved down a breakaway slap shot by Point and also made back-to-back stops on Palat late in the period.
Columbus then wasted little time to tie the game in the third with a power-play goal 47 seconds into the frame. Just seven seconds into the power-play time, Bjorkstrand showed good patience with the puck along the right side, then sent it to the slot where Foligno redirected it past Vasilevskiy to make it 2-2.
Korpisalo made another strong save on a rebound, denying Stamkos, as the game ticked under six minutes to play, and the teams went to overtime from there. In the extra frame, Anthony Cirelli and Zach Werenski were denied by exellent saves on consecutive rushes, but Tampa got the winner 1:56 in when Victor Hedman centered to Point, who scored from the top of the crease.
3 Takeaways
1. Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella did not play center Pierre-Luc Dubois for the last 44:36 of the game. Tortorella clearly didn't like what he saw out of Dubois through the five shifts he skated in the first 15-plus minutes, and a simmering situation threatens to become a media powderkeg now. Here's what Tortorella said about dispensing minutes: "I just go with what I see, and we'll go from there. I really don't make decisions as far as minutes. It's up to the player to show me. If there's one thing I'm pretty easy to read on, it's the minutes. You are going to get out there if you play the proper way. You're going to get back out there. The onus is on the players, all players, not just the player we're talking about here that sat. It's all the players. I'm not a hard guy to read as far as that is concerned." Where it goes from here remains to be seen, but Tortorella insisted the dressing room is handling the situation fine.
2. As for on-ice notes, it feels like it's time to recognize just how well Korpisalo has played through three starts, posting a .935 save percentage and allowing exactly two goals in regulation in each of his starts. He had to be sharp as Tampa created quite a bit off the rush and also made things tricky with a number of deflections and scrums around the net. His best save, or at least his most impressive, was his calm-as-can-be snag of Point's slap shot on the Lightning center's second-period breakaway. "Same thing all the time with him," Tortorella said. "No nonsense. He's just ready. I think he looks very comfortable. Whenever you talk about Korpi, there's not a lot of extra motion with him when you know he's on his game. I think he has stepped into this season with a very short camp, that position being one of the hardest positions to really get going in such a short time. I thought he's played very well."
3. A power-play goal! It's always something to discuss around here, and the Jackets entered the game 0-for-7 on the man advantage on the season. Some of those power plays had looked good, but others were not quite in the same boat. But Columbus wasted little time when given an early man advantage in the third. The fundamentals were solid -- a faceoff win then quick puck movement around the zone, with Cam Atkinson sending the puck across the seam to Bjorkstrand. The Maestro then picked the right pass, hitting Foligno's stick in the slot for the deflection goal. "It felt good," Bjorkstrand said afterward. "Honestly, I thought the games we played, we've been pretty good on the power play, we just haven't scored, so I think we're just trying to stay positive. Tonight, we finally got the goal, so I think that's very good for the power play, but overall I thought we've been moving the puck well, creating more chances. I don't feel like we've been frustrated." Another goal would be nice -- Columbus had two more chances in the third and finished 1-for-4 on the night -- but it's a start.
Notable
Bjorkstrand's goal was the fastest goal ever in a Blue Jackets home opener, besting by 10 seconds a goal by Geoff Sanderson to kick off the 2001 home slate vs. St. Louis. … Atkinson's assist was his first point of the season. … Domi's point was his second in a CBJ sweater. … Columbus is 0-5-3 in its last eight regular-season games against Tampa Bay. … Foligno also earned the team's third fighting major of the year, dropping the gloves with Tampa defenseman Luke Schenn near the midway point of the third. Columbus had just seven fighting majors all of last season. ... Columbus has scored first in four of five games this year yet is 0-2-2 in those games. ... The Blue Jackets had 25 shots on goal.
Roster Report
The Blue Jackets used the same 18-skater lineup as the first four games, with the only change the return of Korpisalo in net. Forward Kevin Stenlund and defensemen Scott Harrington and Gabriel Carlsson were healthy scratches.
Up Next
Columbus hosts Tampa Bay in the second game of the two-game set Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Nationwide Arena.