It was another slow start for the Bolts, who found themselves down by a goal at the end of one period. Seth Jones got Columbus on the board midway through the first with a power play goal, firing a shot from the point that eluded McElhinney after taking a deflection off Alex Killorn.
It took a while for the Lightning's offense to get going, but Coleman connected on the equalizer with less than five minutes remaining in the second. Yanni Gourde started the play, forcing a turnover in the neutral zone to regain possession. On the ensuing rush, Gourde fed Coleman at the right circle for a blast that deflected off Merzlikins' glove and over the line.
The Bolts went ahead for the first time at 8:14 of the third on Ondrej Palat's 13th goal of the season. After Merzlikins stopped Erik Cernak's initial shot, Killorn grabbed the rebound and fed Palat, who scored from a tight angle to the right of the net.
Coleman added his second goal of the game into the empty net in the final minute to ice the game for Tampa Bay.
McElhinney got his first start in net since April 13 and earned his first win since March 21, finishing the night with 25 stops.
The Bolts now get a bit of a breather, as they'll have two days off before facing the Blue Jackets in the series finale on Sunday night.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
CBJ | 9:36 Seth Jones (5) - Oliver Bjorkstrand, Patrick Laine - PPG
2nd Period
TBL | 14:51 Blake Coleman (9) - Yanni Gourde
3rd Period
TBL | 8:14 Ondrej Palat (13) - Alex Killorn, Erik Cernak
TBL | 19:35 Blake Coleman (10) - Unassisted - ENG
