Ondrej Palat scored what turned out to be the deciding goal at 8:14 of the third period. From that point until the end of the game, the Lightning played their best hockey of the night. They were crisp in their execution, dominated puck possession, generated several additional scoring chances, and checked tightly. The Blue Jackets pulled Elvis Merzlikins with about three minutes remaining in the third period, but the Lightning defended the sixth-attacker situation well. They repeatedly cleared pucks from their own zone, held Columbus to just one shot, and sealed the win with an empty-netter.

Tampa Bay's victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday night at AMALIE Arena wasn't a Picasso as Lightning head coach likes to say after games that aren't the prettiest.

But what was pretty was the final score, a 3-1 win that pulls the Lightning back to within a point of second-place Florida in the Central Division and keeps pace with Carolina, who defeated the Panthers in Sunrise Thursday.

The Lightning's offense did just enough to secure a series-opening win over the Blue Jackets on Thursday night at Amalie Arena.

Behind a pair of Blake Coleman goals and a strong performance from Curtis McElhinney, the Bolts grinded their way to a 3-1 win.

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Elizabeth Moore as the 24th Lightning Community Hero this season during the first period of tonight's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Moore, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, presented by Jabil, will donate the money to Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning will host "We Are TGH - Honoring Healthcare Heroes" night, presented by Tampa General Hospital, on Sunday, April 25 when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7 p.m. at AMALIE Arena.

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman David Savard admitted it will be "a little weird" when he faces his former Columbus Blue Jackets teammates tonight at AMALIE Arena (7 p.m. puck drop).

Savard played parts of 10 seasons in Columbus and skated in nearly 600 NHL games with the Blue Jackets before he was dealt to the Lightning before the trade deadline on April 10 in exchange for Tampa Bay's 2021 first round selection and a 2022 third round pick. The Bolts also sent a 2021 fourth round draft pick to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for defenseman Brian Lashoff to absorb some of Savard's cap hit and help facilitate the trade.

The Lightning open the finale series of this homestand on Thursday night against the Blue Jackets. 

When: Thursday, April 22 - 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Amalie Arena - Tampa, FL
TV coverage: Bally Sports Sun (check local listings)
Radio coverage: 970 WFLA-AM, Lightning Power Play
Stream info: FOX Sports GO, NHL.TV

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning and The Mosaic Company announced today that in conjunction with their Goals for Food program, the partnership will be teaming up with Feeding Tampa Bay for a virtual food drive through May 10.

On Monday, the Lightning were the ones that played very well and deserved two points. On Tuesday, Carolina was that team.

Finding consistency in their play from one game to the next has been an issue for the Lightning over the past month or so.

That was evident during a back-to-back split against the Carolina Hurricanes Monday and Tuesday.

The Lightning had one of their finest performances of the regular season Monday when they physically outbattled the Hurricanes and were unrelenting in their effort, despite allowing a two-goal lead to slip, in defeating the Canes 3-2 in overtime.

Tuesday, Carolina was tenacious in the way they defended, frustrating the Lightning continuously and exploding for three goals in a "bad" second period for the Bolts to win 4-1 and gain a split in the back-to-back set.