In Columbus, Joonas Korpisalo made 36 saves and the Blue Jackets defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Ross Colton and Luke Schenn were the Lightning strikers.
Tampa dropped to 26-11-2.
“We’re where we are in the standings because we’ve played very well most of the year,” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. “When the scoring dries up a little bit, you’re looking for answers. The big thing is when that happens you can’t change your game.
“That’s a hard part for any athlete. Their heart is in the right place and they want to do the right thing, and then you start pressing it and maybe it takes you out of your structure a little bit.”
Zac Dalpe, who had not had a goal since the Eisenhower administration, scored for the Blue Jackets.
“I still want to prove to people and myself that I can play at this level,” Dalpe said. “So I guess getting the goals is the cherry on top. Now it’s just waking up and trying to be that consistent player I’ve been searching to be my whole career.”
Dalpe was playing fourth game of the season.
“[Dalpe] is an easy guy to pull for,” Columbus head coach John Tortorella said. “Taxi squad, not on the taxi squad, all that (stuff). It’s been a long year for him.”
Max Domi and Jack Roslovic also scored for Columbus.
“We get hungry playing against good hockey teams for sure, and that’s one of the best,” Domi said. “Huge win tonight.”
Luke Schenn scored for Columbus with 19 seconds left on the clock for the 4-2 final.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves in the loss.
“The chances were there tonight, so this is where the guys grip their sticks a little tight or a little bit of frustration sets in, but their goaltender played extremely well,” Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos said. “In the course of the season, things are going to go well and things aren’t going to go well, it’s the teams that can figure it out and stick together and stay positive.
“This group certainly has that makeup. So yeah, it’s frustrating for sure when you’re not getting the results that you want, but tonight I thought it wasn’t for lack of chances, it wasn’t for a lack of effort.”
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