The first home game back after a long western road trip can difficult, but the Lightning were locked in on Tuesday night against Columbus.
Luke Glendening opened the scoring, with his second goal of the season and from there, momentum started to build.
Nick Paul had a strong showing, putting the Lightning up 2-0 just 88 seconds into the second period. He also had the primary assist on the two Lightning goals that followed.
“I thought he was the best player on the ice for us tonight from start to finish,” head coach Jon Cooper said of Paul. “He is a big piece for us. He fills a lot of holes, does a lot of jobs and it was evident again tonight”
Paul has been a key contributor for the Lightning so far this season, often slotting in at center the majority of the time, but he's proven that he can make an impact regardless of where he's at in the lineup.
"The way we played for the first two periods ... hard defense, we're not forcing anything. Everything we got came from the defensive zone," said Paul. "When you have some goals on the board it's easy to want to push for more, but as a team if you want to go far in this league you better be comfortable shutting down and playing D."
Jake Guentzel scored in his seventh straight game, which is a league-high this season that was previously held by teammate Anthony Cirelli, who had six. Guentzel has 33 points so far, with 18 goals and 15 assists.
Mitchell Chaffee’s goal to make it 4-0 came at the end of a five-minute power play after Cole Sillinger jumped Conor Geekie for a hit on Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro in the second period.
When Brandon Hagel skated over to confront Sillinger in front of the Columbus bench, chaos ensued. Six penalties were handed out. The Blue Jackets had four, three of which were on Sillinger and the Lightning had two.
Brayden Point scored the empty netter at 17:51 for the 5-3 final.
“You are gone for a week and a half, two weeks, whatever it is. You come back. You've had some success. That first game back is tough,” said Cooper. “I remember walking in and I was like, 'I cannot believe we have to play tonight,' and for two periods, these guys could not have played any better.”
The Lightning have outscored their opponents 31-12 in their past six games. They’ll host St. Louis on Thursday night.
