One Final Look At The Stats: CBJ vs. Lightning

Unless you were at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, or you have cable, fans who didn't go to the game couldn't stream the game on devices with the Bally's app. That's two games in a row that a large number of fans have been left in the dark.

Elvis Merzlikins played well against the Lightning on Thursday night. At times it felt like the Lightning were striking from everywhere, but he was able to hold them off. The two goals Tampa scored on; Elvis could do nothing about. One goal went in off of Jake Bean, the other was deflected off of Emil Bemstrom's foot, which somehow ended up being a perfect "pass" to Tampa's Conor Sheary. A pair of fluky goals against Elvis on an otherwise great night for the young Latvian.

1st Period

Each period in this game had its own identity. The first period was pretty even. The Jackets Kirill Marchenko finally got on the board for the first time this season. Both teams had 11 shots and it was a good back-and-forth period. The Lightning did have a powerplay that carried over into the second, which the CBJ killed.

2nd Period

The second period was all Tampa. They scored the two fluky goals and beat the Jackets on the shot clock 12-5. The Lightning were given three powerplays and Columbus killed them all off. The Blue Jackets had two powerplays of their own which were killed as well. Tampa led 2-1 after two periods. 

3rd Period

The third period saw the Jackets take control of the game. They outshot the Bolts 12-6 and were given three powerplays. The Jackets couldn't score on those opportunities but found themselves scoring a trio of goals anyway. Zach Werenski clapped a long shot from the blue line that Boone Jenner tipped out of the air and past rookie goalie Matt Tomkins. Three minutes later Erik Gudbranson let one rip that beat Tomkins. And then with 2:10 left, Johnny Gaudreau scored an empty net goal to seal it at 4-2. That was Gaudreau's first goal of the season. The Blue Jackets beat the Lightning 4-2.

Faceoffs

The Jackets lost the faceoff battle 54.5% to 45.5%. On an individual basis, it breaks down like this:

Sean Kuraly - 53.3%

Boone Jenner - 48.2%

Adam Fantilli - 45.5%

Cole Sillinger 22.2%

Shots

The Jackets won the shot count 29-28. The Jackets were under their season average and the Lightning gave up less than they usually do as well. It felt like there were more shots on goal throughout the night.

Kirill Marchenko - 6

Adam Fantilli - 4

Johnny Gaudreau - 3

Special Teams Play

The Blue Jackets officially had four powerplays, but they failed to score on all of them. They were also on the powerplay at the end of the game when the final horn went off. 

The CBJ PK was 3/3 against Tampa. Tampa had 7 shots on the powerplay and Elvis was able to stop them all. It's a tall task to stop the Bolts powerplay. It's a thing of beauty to watch them make crisp passes and set each up while on the man advantage. 

Reactions

The Blue Jackets had four different goal scorers on Thursday night. Kirill Marchenko(1), Boone Jenner(5), Erik Gudbranson(1), and Johnny Gaudreau(1) all got on the board. Marchenko and Gaudreau finally scoring should help their confidence going forward. Yes, Gaudreau's goal was an empty netter, but it counts, and he'll take it. 

Eleven different players recorded points against Tampa. 

Pascal Vincent said after the game that they made some adjustments after that horrid second period, and the players responded. "The players came out in the third and did their job," Vincent said. You can listen to his full press conference here.

Overall this was a fun game to watch. The Jackets took over in the third when they had to and buried the Lightning. 

Next up is the Washington Capitals in D.C., where they will look to slow down the Caps and Alex Ovechkin. 

Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.