It was minor league night in Columbus on Monday night when the Blue Jackets went with rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo in net. The Lightning brought up Mike Blunden and Joel Vermin to fill in holes in the lineup from injury. The Blue Jackets were coming off an overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday night. The Lightning also suffered a loss that night to the Washington Capitals.

Riveting First Period Ends Scoreless

It was an exciting first period between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets tonight as both teams peppered each other with excellent chances. The Jackets got two very close opportunities to get the first lead. Brandon Saad got the first chance when Nikita Nesterov left him alone in front of the net and Saad nearly made him pay. Luckily, the long legs of Ben Bishop saved Tampa from giving up a goal. Boone Jenner later got a partial breakaway for the Blue Jackets, but he was also shutdown by Bishop.

Alex Killorn got a similar opportunity for Tampa when he went for a backhand goal on Joonas Korpisalo, but he failed to get enough elevation to get it over the goaltender's pads. Columbus nearly converted on four very bad turnovers by Tampa Bay and Ryan Callahan did deliver on a few punches in a last second tussle with Scott Hartnell at the end of the period. Callahan landed a blow square to Hartnell's face and the two were assessed five minute fighting majors. A kicked in goal by the Lightning was also waved off in the first period.

Lightning Take The Lead

The second period was equally exhilarating with both teams getting good chances. Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman was buzzing the whole period, getting several good chances of his own. It was Tampa bay who would strike first when Alex Killorn went in on the forecheck, forcing a Blue Jackets turnover. That sent the puck to Lightning forward Jonathan Marchessault, who netted his third goal of the year. It was sweet for Marchessault who scored against the team that he made his NHL debut with back in 2012. He was traded to Tampa Bay two years ago for Dana Tyrell. Columbus also found the twine in the second when Brandon Dubinsky scored the Blue Jackets' first of the night. The Lightning had poor defensive coverage and left Matt Calvert relatively open down low. He passed in front of the net, where Dubinsky faked out Bishop and tucked it in to tie the game.

Boyle Bangs Home Game Winner

In the third period, the Lightning would be the only team to strike. Before the period was halfway over, Brian Boyle scored a short-handed goal for Tampa Bay, assisted by Alex Killorn. The Blue Jackets made a serious push in the dying minutes of the game, getting within centimeters of tying it as the puck sat halfway across the red line. Bishop was sprawled out, hoping he had it under him, but he couldn't see that it was loose. Vladislav Namestnikov came in and used his hand to push it underneath Bishop and save the game. The Lightning escaped with a 2-1 win.

Next Up

Brian Boyle received first star honors for his short-handed goal in the third, and Ben Bishop got third star honors for his heroics in the third. Rookie Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo won the second star of the game. Columbus travels to Dallas for an 8:30 p.m. ET showdown with the league-leading Stars tomorrow night as a part of a two game road trip. Tampa Bay travels to Toronto for a 7:30 p.m. ET game against the Maple Leafs tomorrow night. It is the second stop on a three game road trip, their last of 2015.