Gaudreau, Marchenko lift Blue Jackets past Lightning to stop 4-game skid

COLUMBUS -- Johnny Gaudreau and Kirill Marchenko each scored his first goal of the season for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Erik Gudbranson scored the go-ahead goal in the third period after Boone Jenner tied it, and Elvis Merzlikins made 27 saves for the Blue Jackets (4-4-2), who ended a four-game skid.

“We did a really good job coming out and believing in our ability to come win the game,” Gudbranson said. “That’s a tough team to take wins from and we did a lot of good things. From last year to this year, that's a significant difference how we handled that deficit going into the third.”

Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist, Conor Sheary scored and for the Lightning (4-3-3), whose six-game point streak ended (3-0-3). Matt Tomkins made 24 saves  in his second NHL start. 

“We’re just finding ways to lose,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “That was a nothing game. It should have been easy and it’s over. We didn’t have any push. We haven’t taken penalties all year and we found a way to take three in the third.

“If you want to give yourself a chance to lose, those are some of the things we’re doing, which is why we’re losing games.”

Marchenko returned from a two-game benching to give Columbus a 1-0 lead at 6:29 of the first period. Marchenko scored on a wrist shot from the left circle on a pass from Dmitri Voronkov in the slot. He scored 21 goals in 59 games as a rookie last season.

Stamkos tied it 1-1 at 2:53 of the second period after his centering pass on a 2-on-1 deflected off the skate of Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Bean.

Sheary put Tampa Bay ahead 2-1 at 4:42, tapping a backdoor pass to the right post by Stamkos before Columbus mounted its comeback.

“Overall in the third period, we had five bad minutes when they pushed really hard and got two goals,” Sheary said. “After that they seemed to shut us down, didn’t give us much opportunity.”

Jenner tied it 2-2 at 6:41 of the third period, tipping a shot from the point by Zach Werenski after winning a face-off.

“They had the majority of the push in the third period. I don’t know if we sat back and watched,” Stamkos said. “We talked about when you have a good (second) period let’s continue to press. It’s kind of disappointing we didn’t do that.”

Gudbranson gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead at 9:24 of the third with his first goal since Dec. 2, 2022, a one-timer from just outside the right circle.

“To come back the way we did in the third, that response facing the adversity and how we dealt with it, that's what we're looking for,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. “That's the type of win that builds character and builds confidence that, ‘OK, we did it once, we can do it over and over and over.’ For everyone that was a big one.”

Gaudreau scored into an empty net at 17:49 for the 4-2 final.

“We came out in the third and had some good juice,” Jenner said. “We were playing on our toes and to get rewarded was good. We come back with a couple of good shifts and bang, we get another one. I like the response from us.”

NOTES: Tomkins was a seventh-round pick (No. 199) in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. The 29-year-old made 33 saves in a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 15 in his NHL debut. … Stamkos has 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 31 games against the Blue Jackets. … The Lightning are 0-3-1 on the road. … Voronkov has three points (one goal, two assists) in his first four NHL games.