Zach Werenski scored twice, and Elvis Merzlikins made 34 saves for the Blue Jackets (30-23-8), who had won four straight. It was Columbus’ first game since defeating the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

The Lightning needed less than 90 seconds in period two before ballooning their lead, as Jake Guentzel redirected a Victor Hedman pass near the blue paint. Tampa Bay’s captain extended the Lightning lead with his windup shot from the left wall that bounced off a Columbus player and beat Merzlikins in the top left corner of the net.

Zach Werenski (19,20) scored the only goals for Columbus, and Elvis Merzļikins stopped 34 of 39 Lightning shots in a convincing Tampa win.

Zach Werenski played a key role in helping the United States open ... Regulation victories award three points, overtime wins are worth two points, overtime losses are worth one point and regulation losses net zero points. After the first two games ...