Tampa Bay quickly found themselves down a goal after Oliver Bjorkstrand lit the lamp 21 seconds into the first period. Max Domi forced Victor Hedman into a turnover at the blueline and fed Bjorkstrand at the right circle. On the shot, it appeared Andrei Vasilevksiy was playing Bjorkstrand to pass, which opened space at the near post for the shot.
Bjorkstrand's goal stood as the only tally of the game until late in the second period when the Bolts managed to push through the pair of goals and take the lead.
A beautiful passing sequence led to the game-tying goal at 16:33 of the period. Ryan McDonagh found himself in a position to shoot but waited for Blake Coleman to free himself up in the slot. With the Blue Jackets getting ready for McDonagh's shot, he instead passed to a wide open Coleman, who tapped the puck past Joonas Korpisalo to tie the game at one.
Less than two minutes later, McDonagh picked up another assist on a Mathieu Joseph one-timed blast that put Tampa Bay in front, 2-1. The Bolts forced Columbus into a turnover in the neutral zone and McDonagh fed Joseph in the middle of the ice for a one-timer that beat Korpisalo to the glove side.
With Jan Rutta called for hooking in the opening minute of the third period, however, Columbus equalized on the power play. Bjorkstrand fired a pass from the right boards into the center of the ice and Nick Foligno managed to deflect the puck past Vasilevskiy.
A pair of successful penalty kills for the Bolts down the stretch kept the game tied and forced overtime.
It was a frenetic start to the extra frame with chances coming on both ends of the ice. The biggest moment came just 24 seconds in when Columbus had an opportunity on a 2-on-0 rush but Vasilevskiy made a save on Zach Werenski's on-timer to keep the Bolts alive.
Finally, it was Brayden Point - who has a history against the Blue Jackets in overtime - who won it for the Lightning. Point managed to beat his man to the far post and had his stick on the ice to put home Victor Hedman's pass.
For Tampa Bay, the win marks their third-straight to open the 2020-21 season.
The Bolts finished the night with a 37-25 advantage in shots on goal. The power play failed to convert on its lone opportunity and the penalty kill went 1-for-4.
The Lightning and Blue Jackets meet again on Saturday afternoon to close out the two-game series.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
CBJ | 0:21 Oliver Bjorkstrand (2) - Max Domi
2nd Period
TBL | 16:33 Blake Coleman (2) - Ryan McDonagh, Yanni Gourde
TBL | 17:56 Mathieu Joseph (2) - Ryan McDonagh, Anthony Cirelli
3rd Period
CBJ | 0:47 Nick Foligno (2) - Oliver Bjorkstrand, Cam Atkinson - PPG
Overtime
TBL | 1:56 Brayden Point (2) - Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos
