It was another big night for Conor Garland, and the Columbus Blue Jackets continue to surge at the perfect time. Garland scored twice again as Columbus defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5–2 on the road Tuesday night, extending the Blue Jackets’ point streak to seven games.
The veteran forward is heating up in a big way. After recording another two-goal performance, Garland has now produced back-to-back multi-goal games for the first time in his NHL career. Since arriving in Columbus earlier this month, he has quickly become an offensive spark for a team fighting to stay in the playoff race.
With the victory, the Blue Jackets continue their strong run and are now 6-1-3 in their last 10 games. The surge has pulled Columbus within two points of the Boston Bruins in the standings, keeping their postseason hopes very much alive.
Game Summary
The Columbus Blue Jackets, in the middle of a three-game road trip, were looking to bounce back after suffering two overtime losses in their previous games. The challenge was even tougher with the team playing on back-to-back nights, but Columbus responded in impressive fashion.
Leading the way was Conor Garland, who took control of the offense with two goals—his 10th and 11th of the season and already his third and fourth since joining Columbus, continuing his red-hot start with the team.
The Blue Jackets completely shifted the momentum early in the second period with two goals in just 30 seconds.
Defenseman Ivan Provorov tied the game 1–1 at 5:57 of the second period, blasting a one-timer from the blue line through heavy traffic for his eighth goal of the season.
Only 30 seconds later, Garland gave Columbus the lead. After receiving a pass from Kent Johnson, he fired a quick wrist shot from the slot that slipped through the five-hole of Andrei Vasilevskiy, putting the Blue Jackets ahead 2–1 at 6:27.
Columbus kept pushing. Kirill Marchenko extended the lead to 3–1 with a power-play goal at 11:42, burying a one-timer from the left circle past Vasilevskiy’s blocker after a sharp setup from Adam Fantilli.
The Tampa Bay Lightning tried to respond late in the second period when Janis Moser cut the deficit to one, but Columbus quickly shut the door in the third.
Garland struck again on the power play at 4:00 of the third period. Sean Monahan collected a loose puck in the slot and fed Garland, who skated into the left circle and lifted a backhand under Vasilevskiy’s blocker to restore a comfortable lead.
From that point on, Columbus never looked back.
Defenseman Dante Fabbro sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 15:25, securing the 5–2 final and extending the Blue Jackets’ impressive run.
GAME STATS
| Statistic | Columbus Blue Jackets | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Shots on Goal | 31 | 18 |
| Faceoff % | 43.6% | 56.4% |
| Power Play | 2 / 4 | 0 / 3 |
| Penalty Minutes | 13 | 15 |
| Hits | 21 | 29 |
| Blocked Shots | 15 | 8 |
| Giveaways | 17 | 11 |
| Takeaways | 9 | 2 |
Game Notes
• Kirill Marchenko continues to stay hot offensively, extending his point streak to six games with nine points (four goals, five assists) during that stretch.
• Charlie Coyle also extended his productive run for the Columbus Blue Jackets, pushing his point streak to seven games with nine points (one goal, eight assists).
• Veteran forward Sean Monahan has quietly been producing as well, collecting six points (two goals, four assists) in his last six games.
• With his goal, Gage Goncalves reached a new career high with 21 points this season, including eight goals and 13 assists.
- Despite the loss, Nikita Kucherov extended his own strong stretch, recording eight points (two goals, six assists) over his last three games. The Lightning star also reached another milestone, becoming just the seventh player in NHL history to record four consecutive 70-assist seasons.
My Takeaway
1. Strong response on a back-to-back
The Columbus Blue Jackets delivered an impressive response on the second night of a back-to-back with a big road win. Columbus has now proven to be very reliable in these situations, improving its record to 7-2-1 in back-to-back games this season.
After allowing 10 goals over their previous two games, head coach Rick Bowness emphasized before the game how important it was for the team to tighten its defensive structure and limit opponents’ scoring chances.
The players answered that challenge. Columbus allowed just two goals and showed a much stronger commitment to team defense. Bowness has consistently reminded his players that success comes when all five players on the ice work together defensively, and that message has clearly started to sink in.
After the game, Bowness also praised his team for managing the puck well while protecting the lead, something that had been an issue recently. In previous games, Columbus struggled in the third period, allowing opponents to come back. This time, they stayed composed and controlled the game until the final whistle.
2. Garland making an immediate impact
Since arriving from the Vancouver Canucks in a trade on March 6, Conor Garland has made an immediate impact with Columbus.
In just three games with the Blue Jackets, Garland has already scored four goals, quickly becoming a key piece of the team’s top-six forward group. His speed, creativity, and offensive instincts have given Columbus another dangerous weapon.
The results speak for themselves. In the three games since Garland joined the lineup, the Blue Jackets have scored 13 goals, showing a noticeable boost in offensive production.
Meanwhile, Kirill Marchenko, Charlie Coyle, Sean Monahan, and Zach Werenski continue to produce offensively. With several players contributing, Columbus now has a much deeper attack while the goaltending continues to hold steady.
3. Special teams made the difference
Special teams played a major role in the victory. Columbus scored two power-play goals on four opportunities and successfully killed all three power plays from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Winning the special-teams battle often determines the outcome of a game, and that was clearly the case here. When a team scores on the power play and keeps its penalty kill strong, the chances of winning increase significantly.
Columbus has been particularly solid in this area lately, allowing only two power-play goals over their last seven games.
4. The playoff race is getting crazy
For the second straight season, the Blue Jackets are battling for a wild-card playoff spot in the National Hockey League.
Last season, Columbus narrowly missed the playoffs after the Montreal Canadiens won their final game of the season. This year, the story is beginning to look very similar, but the Blue Jackets are determined to get a different result.
The biggest challenge is how difficult it is to gain ground in the standings when almost every team around them keeps winning or collecting points.
On Tuesday night alone:
• the Carolina Hurricanes won
• the New York Islanders won
• the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a point
• the Boston Bruins won
• and the Canadiens also picked up a victory.
Even though Columbus is 4-0-3 in its last seven games, the team has only managed to gain four points in the standings.
That shows just how tight the playoff race has become. From this point forward, every game feels like a must-win, because a single loss could push a team several spots back in the standings.
Next Game
The Columbus Blue Jackets will continue their road trip on Thursday, March 12, when they visit the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
Columbus will look to extend its point streak to eight games as it continues to push hard in the tight National Hockey League playoff race.
