Lightning halt skid with win against Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS - Forward Steven Stamkos scored twice and goalie Ben Bishop made 37 saves to help the Tampa Bay Lightning end a three-game losing streak with a 4-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Sunday.
Tampa Bay (40-24-5) scored three third-period goals, two of them shorthanded, despite finishing the game with nine forwards because of injuries.

"We needed a bounce back and the guys did," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We came on the road, we got the lead. The penalty kill was outstanding."
The Lightning lost forwards Valtteri Filppula and Nikita Kucherov to injuries in the second period. Cooper had no updates on them after the game.

Forward Cedric Paquette was out with an injury, so Cooper dressed seven defensemen.
"You go down to nine forwards in a game that was physical, it was hard-nosed; [it] shows a lot of character, especially in the third," Stamkos said. "We knew they were going to press."
Bishop earned his fourth shutout of the season and 16th of his NHL career by making 16 third-period saves to back a first-period goal by Stamkos, his 30th this season.

"It's reassuring when you've got him back there because you play with confidence," Stamkos said.
Vladislav Namestnikov made it 2-0 at 8:45 of the third, scoring his 12th goal of the season, thanks to a turnover by Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout. He lost the puck to Tyler Johnson, who found Namestnikov in the left circle.
That was the backbreaker that sealed a second straight loss for Columbus (28-33-8).
"I thought the tide was turning until that unfortunate one, the second goal," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "It's tough because we played a pretty good game until we fell apart at the end."

Stamkos finished a 2-on-0 break to score shorthanded at 10:45. Palat made it 4-0 at 14:39, also with the Lightning down a man.
The irony is that the Lightning power play is 0-for-16 in the past seven games.
"We're right there, 11 minutes left in the third period," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "We gathered ourselves in the second but I thought we played a really good second. It starts with the turnover for the second goal."
Still, he found some positives.

"They played hard. They stuck together. They kept on grinding," Tortorella said. "It needs to be a lesson learned and not do anything too risky."
Stamkos' first goal in five games at 5:29 of the second period gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead. He reached 30 goals for the fifth time in eight seasons with a shot from the right dot that beat Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky glove side.
"He's definitely a great player," Bobrovsky said. "He's got a good shot, good vision."
Columbus had a goal by Alex Wennberg disallowed at 17:10 of the first when forward Boone Jenner was ruled to have made contact with Bishop.

Foligno and Bishop earlier engaged during a scrum behind the Tampa Bay goal. The two were teammates with the Ottawa Senators.
"I was kind of messing with him," Bishop said. "At first it was to kind of mess with him because I played with him but then I might have gone a little too hard on him."
Foligno tripped Bishop behind the Tampa Bay goal in the second, although Foligno thought there was embellishment.
"Oh, yeah, I know him well," Foligno said. "We played together in Ottawa. He was laughing about that, so that [upset] me more than anything."