By Joe Coopersmith

GAME SUMMARY  II  EVENT SUMMARY

GAME AT A GLANCE      

THREE STARS
1^st – K. Marchenko, CBJ (1-0-1, GWG); 2^nd – K. Johnson (1-0-1); 3^rd – D. Severson, CBJ (1-0-1)

GOAL SCORERS
Columbus: K. Johnson (1), D. Severson (1), K. Marchenko (5)

Tampa Bay: R. McDonagh (2), PPG – A. Cerellli (3)

GOALTENDERS
Columbus: J. Greaves (22-of-24 saves in 59:53, W)
Tampa Bay: J. Johansson (28-of-31 saves in 57:57, L)

SPECIAL TEAMS
Columbus PP: 0-for-2, 3 shots

Tampa Bay PP: 1-for-3, 2 shots

POST-GAME AUDIO INTERVIEWS   

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

HC Dean Evason | G Elvis Merzlikins | F Kirill Marchenko | D Damon Severson

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

HC Jon Cooper | F Oliver Bjorkstrand | D Ryan McDonagh

TEAM NOTES                    

• Columbus picked up its first home win of the season tonight to cap off its three-game homestand from Oct. 13-18.
• The club has posted back-to-back wins against Tampa Bay at Nationwide Arena and has collected points in eight of the last 12 played on home ice in the series (6-4-2).
• The Blue Jackets scored the first goal tonight, marking the third time in the last four contests as well as in back-to-back contests the club has opened the scoring.  The team posted a 29-9-5 record during the 2024-25 season when scoring the first goal of the game.
• Columbus scored in all three periods tonight for the second time this season (Oct. 11 at MIN).  The club scored in all three periods 29 times (21 times at home) after tallying goals in 163-of-the-244 periods played in regulation in 2024-25.

PLAYER NOTES                                                                                                                                                                          

• C Charlie Coyle (0-2-2, 5 GP) notched his second assist of the campaign tonight on Severson’s goal.
• C Adam Fantilli (1-2-3, 5 GP) collected an assist and has now picked up 1-3-4 in five career games against Tampa Bay, including collecting points in three-straight outings (1-2-3).  The assist was also the 40th of his NHL/CBJ career and required the ninth-fewest games to reach the mark by a Blue Jackets player (136 GP).
• G Jet Greaves (1-2-0, 3 GP) recorded his first win of the season tonight after stopping 22-of-24 shots faced (.917 SV%).  He has allowed two goals in each of his three contests in 2025-26.
• C Boone Jenner (1-3-4, 5 GP) tallied his third assist of the season on Johnson’s goal and improved to 6-7-13 in 29 career games against Tampa Bay.
• Celebrating his 23^rd birthday, F Kent Johnson (1-0-1, 5 GP) became the 13^th player in franchise history to score on their birthday tonight after tallying his first of the season.  He now has 3-3-6 in 11 career outings against the Lightning and has 3-2-5 in six career games at Nationwide Arena.
• RW Kirill Marchenko (5-1-6, 5 GP) scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season and has collected points in four-straight contests.  His goal established a new franchise record for most goals through the first five games of a season, surpassing the previous best of four recorded by Boone Jenner (2021-22, 23-24) Johnny Gaudreau (2022-23), Sonny Milano (2017-18) and Rick Nash (2008-09).  The forward has notched 6-5-11 with points in eight of nine career games against Tampa Bay and has points in all four career contests at Nationwide Arena (2-3-5).
• RW Mathieu Olivier (0-1-1, 5 GP) collected his first point of the season tonight after dishing out the primary helper on Severson’s goal.
• D Damon Severson (1-1-2, 5 GP) scored his first goal of the season tonight and has now picked up 5-10-15 in 29 career games against Tampa Bay with 2-5-7 in his last 10 outings overall and 2-4-6 in his last eight when playing at home.
• LW Dmitri Voronkov (2-3-5, 5 GP) notched the primary assist on Marchenko’s goal and improved to 1-4-5 in seven career matchups against the Lightning.
• D Zach Werenski (1-3-4, 5 GP) collected an assist tonight and has now tallied 8-13-21 in 25 career outings against Tampa Bay.  He has registered 7-11-18 in his last 14 games overall while notching points in seven-of-his-last-eight played at Nationwide Arena (4-7-11).

UPCOMING WEEKLY SCHEDULE     

Sunday, Oct. 19                          No practice

Monday, Oct. 20                         10:30am practice (Nationwide Arena)

Tuesday, Oct. 21                        8pm ET at Dallas (FanDuel Sports Network/97.1 The Fan)

Wednesday, Oct. 22                 No practice

Thursday, Oct. 23                      10:30am practice (Nationwide Arena)

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS