Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Home Win Streak With 6-4 Victory Over Jets

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Winnipeg Jets 6-4 on Thursday night to extend their home winning streak to six games. This result ties the franchise record for the most consecutive home victories to open a season.

Pontus Holmberg led the Lightning with a career-high four points. He scored once and added three assists. Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli each contributed a goal and two assists. Brayden Point, John Carlson, and Conor Geekie also found the back of the net for Tampa Bay.

The Lightning built a commanding lead in the second period. They scored four goals during that stretch, three of which occurred in the final four minutes and four seconds. Conor Geekie opened the scoring rush at 9:43 with a backhand pass from Dominic James. Anthony Cirelli added a power-play goal at 15:56, tapping in a cross-crease pass from Holmberg.

John Carlson extended the lead to 4-1 at 18:07 by one-timing a pass from the left faceoff dot. Brandon Hagel capped the second period with a tap-in from Cirelli at the back post with 56 seconds remaining. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 17 shots in the win.

Winnipeg attempted a comeback in the third period. Dylan Samberg scored at 7:00 on a one-handed redirect from Perfetti. Neil Pionk, playing his 600th game, added his second goal at 8:50. Dawson Mercer recorded his first point with the Jets on that play. Kyle Connor pulled Winnipeg within one goal with 2:49 left in the game.

Winnipeg goaltender Stuart Skinner allowed five goals on 21 shots before being replaced by Nico Daws to start the third period. Daws made nine saves in his debut with the Jets. The Jets have lost their last five regulation games, a stretch that began after they traded goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey.

Holmberg added an empty-net goal with 1:33 left to seal the victory. The last time Winnipeg won was on Oct. 13. The Lightning are now 6-0 at home this season.