Columbus Blue Jackets @ Tampa Bay Lighting: 4/9/24 Game Recap

Tonight would start out rough for the visiting team. Alex Nylander wouldn't even make it to puck drop, leaving warm-up in Tampa Bay early and never seeing the ice again tonight. When it was announced he had a lower-body injury, the team would lose their second forward of the night, Carson Meyer, to an upper-body injury. Add in Brayden Point having the game-opening goal, taking his Lightning team up 1-0 at 16:31 with his forty-fourth goal this season, and the outlook on the night didn't look so bright, 5th Line. But then, have no fear; Kirill Marchenko is here! At 19:17, goal twenty-two this season would come for Kirill Marchenko, allowing him to pass his twenty-one goals in his rookie season last year! Last season, Cole Sillinger had eighteen assists, and on this Marcheko goal, he again has achieved eighteen assists. In addition, the secondary assist would go to Damon Severson, allowing him to also have at least eighteen assists this season. 

At 7:13, Kirill Marchenko's scoring magic continued into the second period, putting him on hattrick watch! This marks his second goal tonight and his twenty-third goal this season. Tonight, Johnny Gaudreau started with 499 assists over his eleven-year career, and with the primary assist on Kirill Marchenko's second goal tonight, he rolls over to 500 assists! What an accomplishment for him; congratulations, Johnny! As if that wasn't enough, Zach Werenski continues his march toward more Blue Jackets records with his forty-fourth assist this season! Of course, Steven Stamkos wouldn't allow us to hold a lead in Tampa for long, and he scored before this period ended to once again tie the game at 2-2. That goal would be his thirty-seventh this season and he'd score it at 14:17.     

The Lightning would pull away with two goals in the blink of an eye to start period three. Anthoney Cirelli would have his twentieth goal at 5:40 and be quickly followed by his teammate and captain, Steven Stamkos, who scored his second goal tonight and thirty-eight this season at 5:56. At the very end of the period, Steven Stamkos would tack on his third goal tonight, gaining another hattrick in his legendary career (credit where it's due). So, it's another road loss, but one which had sizable effort. The final was a 5-3 Lightning win. 

Kirill Marchenko would come away with a 2-0-2 evening, securing him the Third Star of the Game tonight, 

Our next game is Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. We'll stay in Florida and visit the playoff-bound Panthers and our former goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. 

Go CBJ!   






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