Kucherov, Hedman propel Lightning past Blue Jackets

TAMPA -- Victor Hedman and Jake Guentzel each had two goals and an assist, and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 6-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Amalie Arena on Tuesday.

Mitchell Chaffee also scored, and Brayden Point and Darren Raddysh each had two assists for the Lightning (36-21-4), who have won nine of 10 (9-1-0) but were coming off a 2-1 loss at the Florida Panthers on Monday that ended their eight-game winning streak. Jonas Johansson made 30 saves.

"It's always when a team is waiting for you in your hometown, when you're playing on the road," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "This was a big test for us against a team that was playing well, and the guys did a great job tonight"

Zach Werenski scored twice, and Elvis Merzlikins made 34 saves for the Blue Jackets (30-23-8), who had won four straight. It was Columbus’ first game since defeating the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

"Not enough throughout the night of getting [the puck] there and using our strengths down in their zone," Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. "Going into the third we're down two, but we know we can score, get one and we're right back in it. They were just able to get that one before us."

Chaffee gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead 30 seconds into the first period when he redirected a shot from Emil Lilleberg past Merzlikins five-hole.

Kucherov extended it to 2-0 at 1:37, scoring on a breakaway after Guentzel sent him a stretch pass from the defensive zone.

"We wanted to get off to a good start and get our legs going with the back-to-back here," Raddysh said. "We did that, scored on the first two shots and we just kind of went from there."

Werenski cut it to 2-1 at 17:20 with a shot from outside the left circle that beat Johansson to the far post.

"When you start down 2-0, it's definitely tough to come back from," Werenski said. "I know we're capable of doing it, but you don't want to start the game that way, especially right now when you're fighting for points."

Guentzel pushed it to 3-1 at 1:27 of the second period on a tap-in after Hedman found him open backdoor.

Hedman then made it 4-1 at 6:36 on a shot from the left circle that went above Merzlikins' glove.

"Scoring two in the first minute and a half was big for us," Hedman said. "We got the puck in the zone and got close to the net. We wanted to do the same thing in the second and we got two quick ones and we're able to hem them in. If you can do that, good things will happen."

Werenski scored a short-handed goal at 10:49 to cut it to 4-2, finishing a 2-on-1 rush with a chip-in off a centering pass from Adam Fantilli.

"It was 4-1, that goal makes it 4-2, but it's just hard to come back from those big leads," Werenski said. "We put in some good minutes, I thought we worked hard for a lot of the game, definitely had some mistakes in front of Elvis that cost us tonight."

Hedman’s second goal of the game made it 5-2 at 9:44. He scored on a one-timer from the point off a pass from Point on a power play.

Guentzel scored his second goal into an empty net at 17:53 for the 6-2 final.

"We wanted to stay close to them on defense, don't give them time and space," Hedman said. "They are a great team and they're in a playoff spot for a reason. They have great speed and guys that can make a difference. Once we got into a lead, we had to focus on keeping them from using their speed and skill.

NOTES: Hedman passed Rob Blake for 20th in points by a defenseman in NHL history (778). ... Fantilli had an assist to extend his point streak to six games (three goals, four assists). ... Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov was minus-2 with two shots on goal in 13:25 in his return after missing 39 games with an upper-body injury.