Blue Jackets 1, Lightning 0
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Nick Foligno scored the game's only goal in highight fashion, and the Columbus Blue Jackets hung on for a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay despite losing star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to injury.
Bobrovsky, who won the Vezina Trophy last season as the NHL's top goaltender, left the ice with the help of teammates at 4:17 of the third period after stopping Tampa Bay's J.T. Brown on a breakaway.
Replays showed there was no contact between Brown and Bobrovsky, but Bobrovsky's left skate appeared to catch on the goalpost as his weight carried him backward. He put no weight on his left skate as he headed to the dressing room.
The Blue Jackets did not immediately release any information about the injury.
Bobrovsky stopped all 18 shots he faced. He was replaced by Curtis McElhinney, who stopped all six shots he faced, including a glove save off to deny Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis with 1:23 remaining.
Tampa Bay was shutout for the second straight game and the fifth time in 27 games this season.
Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop stopped 20 of 21 shots. The one he didn't stop - Foligno's early in the second - will be shown in rinks for many years to come.
After a dozy first period in which they generated only four shots on goal, the Blue Jackets stepped up the pressure on their forecheck in the second period. It paid immediate dividends.
At 4:30 of the period, after the Lightning had been hemmed in their zone for a long stretch, Foligno was left all alone in the slot. From a crowd of defenders along the wall, Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen fed him the puck off his backhand.
With time and space, Foligno closed in on Bishop, dragged the puck between his legs, and lifted it off his forehand, scoring over Bishop's extended right pad.
It was Foligno's seventh goal of the season. It was all the Blue Jackets would need, thanks to Bobrovsky and McElhinney.
The Lightning had a last-gasp power play with 4:46 remaining, but generated only one shot.
NOTES: Before Tuesday's game, the Lightning announced that D Eric Brewer was day-to-day with a lower-body injury after a "tweak" during the morning skate. ... Blue Jackets C Brandon Dubinsky returned to the lineup after missing six games with a bone bruise in his left ankle. ... Blue Jackets C Derek MacKenzie, who has missed the last four games with back spasms, is targeting a return Friday vs. Minnesota. ... The crowd was the smallest at the Nationwide Arena so far this season. ... Blue Jackets C Mark Letestu, who led the club with 13 goals last season, was demoted to the fourth line Tuesday. He has just one goal in 27 games.
