Burns: 3 Things we learned from overcoming Columbus

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.

Tampa Bay overcame a sluggish start and a one-goal deficit to score three-straight times and win going away against Columbus.
The Lightning also got a fantastic bounce-back performance from netminder Curtis McElhinney, who was awarded First Star honors after making 24-of-25 saves.
The Bolts have split three separate two-game series against Columbus in 2020-21. In fact, the Lightning have split each of their last seven two-game series, no matter the opponent, entering Thursday's contest.
Having won the opening game in the final two-game set against Columbus, the Bolts will go for the sweep on Sunday when they close out their season-long six-game homestand.
Here's how the Lightning set themselves up for that opportunity with a much-needed win over the Blue Jackets.

1. REDEMPTION FOR MAC
For nine days, Lightning goaltender Curtis McElhinney had to sit and stew over his last performance, a clunker in Nashville where he gave us seven goals on 22 shots in a 7-2 defeat, the Bolts' largest margin of defeat and the most goals they've given up this season.
McElhinney was not to blame for the defeat. The team in front of him played poorly, the Lightning gave up more odd-man rushes than they probably had all year and Nashville cashed in on every one of those opportunities.
It was one of those games where no matter who was in net was going to get shellacked.
Still, no goalie wants to be part of a night like that, and McElhinney, as the backup goalie with infrequent starts, had to wait a little longer to redeem himself.
That chance came Thursday against Columbus.
In a game the Lightning absolutely had to win to keep their chances of winning the Central Division alive, McElhinney was sensational in Tampa Bay's 3-1 win, making 24-of-25 saves overall, showing a calm demeanor in net that radiated out through the rest of the team and making a couple key saves in big moments to keep his team within striking distance.
"It felt great," McElhinney summed up after the win. "Obviously, it's been a little up and down the last couple of games for us and trying to find our groove. Nice for me to get in there and get a win for the team and a big win for us moving forward."
McElhinney's best moment came in the second period with the Lightning trailing 1-0. David Savard's pass in the offensive zone was intercepted, providing a breakaway for Jack Roslovic that McElhinney was able to thwart.
Had Columbus scored there, Thursday's outcome might have been different for the Bolts.
"It was a huge save for us to keep it a one-goal game," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "You need that from your goaltender, and he was great tonight."
McElhinney collected his first win in over a month. He improved to 4-5-1 through 10 starts this season. And with only a couple more starts likely for McElhinney over the final nine games of the regular season, it was important for him to come through with a solid performance in a season that he admitted has been frustrating for him at times.
"There's been some good games and then some games that have kind of gotten away from me," he said. "The most important thing is just showing up for the next one. We had success tonight against Columbus and right now I don't know when the next start is going to come, but I'll work towards that and just make sure that I'm ready for that when it comes. I can't change the past right now. I feel pretty good in the net. I don't have any qualms about the way I'm playing right now, just some games have gotten away. The most important thing is that the next one doesn't and you give the team a chance to win."

2. SECONDARY SCORING RETURNS
Tampa Bay has had difficulty scoring goals of late, the Lightning netting just four or more goals once over the last 16 games, including Thursday's win over Columbus.
In the first 31 games of the season, the Bolts, once the top scoring team in the NHL, notched four or more goals 18 times.
One of the reasons for the Lightning's scoring struggles, among many, has been their lack of secondary scoring. Players who are used to filling the net with regularity have been on long scoring slumps.
A couple of those guys broke out on Thursday and keyed Thursday's win over the Blue Jackets.
With the Lightning trailing 1-0 and unable to generate much of anything offensively through the first 30 minutes, Blake Coleman came through with a crucial goal, blasting a shot from the right circle off a 3-on-2 rush that was slowed down by Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins not but not stopped from crossing the goal line.
That goal ended a six-game goal drought for Coleman and was just his second in the last 21 games.
Then in the third with the game still 1-1 and up for grabs, Ondrej Palat gave the Lightning their first lead and scored what would hold up as the game-winner, Alex Killorn collecting a rebound off of Erik Cernak's saved shot and dishing in the lower right circle for Palat, who beat Merzlikins to the far post.
Palat, who was scoring with regularity through the first half of the season, ended a season-long 13-game goal slump with his go-ahead tally.
"I haven't scored for a while, so it's nice," Palat admitted. "I was just trying to stick with it and work hard, keep it simple, shoot the puck and I'm happy it went in."
Coleman tacked on an empty-net goal with 25 seconds remaining, shooting accurately down the length of the ice from above the circles in his own zone to seal the Bolts' 3-1 victory. Coleman notched his first two-goal game of the regular season with the Lightning (he had one in Game 2 of the Second Round versus Boston in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs) and eighth of his career.
"Guys like to score, that's the bottom line," Cooper said. "Ultimately, it's winning the game that's most important, and if you can do that then everybody getting on the scoresheet, that's a good thing. Good for Blake. Like Palat too, they expect a lot from themselves and good to see guys working hard get rewarded."

3. PATIENCE IS KEY
Columbus entered Thursday's game having lost seven games in a row and 10 of their last 11, but the Blue Jackets continue to test the patience of their opposition with their defense-first approach that makes scoring hard to come by.
The Blue Jackets limit the time and space teams have to work with, and that can be frustrating for a team, especially one like the Lightning eager to break out of their recent scoring slump and knowing a victory over the Blue Jackets, tied with Detroit for last place in the Central, is essential to keeping pace with Carolina and Florida in the division.
That patience was further tested when, after a scoreless opening period, Columbus converted its only power play of the game, Seth Jones blasting a shot from the center point that beat McElhinney, who might have been expecting a tip from Jack Roslovic lurking at the front of the net.
"I think at times they can be a little frustrating to play against, but that's part of the reason that they're in games a lot of the time," McElhinney said. "Sometimes, it's hard to generate offense, and if you get a little sleepy, they'll sneak by you there with a good opportunity. They've got a couple of players that can make some things happen."
There could have been a temptation for the Lightning at that point to come out of their defensive structure a bit to generate more chances in search of that tying goal.
But they didn't. They remained sound defensively. They didn't cheat for offense. And their patience was rewarded when Coleman was able to squeeze a shot past Merzlikins to get the Bolts back on even terms.
"We've played a lot of hockey against them, and they have nothing to lose," Palat said. "They had a couple of young guys in the lineup. They played well. They check well. They don't give you much. It's challenging for us to play against that, but we like that. It's hard, but you need to stick with it and play a simple game and get to work and shoot the puck."
Palat's go-ahead goal was more hard work from the Bolts. Killorn retrieved Cernak's shot below the goal line. Despite getting his stick held, he was able to work it free, grazing the mask of Merzlikins in the process, generating howls of protest from the Blue Jackets' bench, to work the puck to Palat all alone in the right circle.
Palat wasn't about to miss on one of the better opportunities the Lightning would see all night when they were so few and far between.
"That's why Tort's has been in this league a long time. He's a hell of a coach," Cooper said. "A lot of regulars are out of their lineup, and he's got the guys fighting hard. They're a tough team to play against. They defend. You can see it was hard to score tonight for us, but big goal by Pally there and it was enough."