TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves, Anthony Cirelli had a tiebreaking goal and a fight, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Monday night.
Tampa Bay also got goals from Mathieu Joseph, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos. The defending Stanley Cup champions are 6-0-2 over the last eight games.
Mathew Barzal scored for the Islanders, who have lost three in a row. Semyon Varlamov stopped 24 shots.
It was the Islanders’ 12th of 13 games during a season-opening road trip. New York will play its home opener at the new UBS Arena on Saturday night against Calgary.
The teams met for the first time since Tampa Bay beat the Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup semifinals last June.
New York defenseman Zdeno Chara and Lightning forward Pat Maroon fought right after the opening puck drop. Chara was given a high-sticking minor and 10-minute misconduct, and Tampa Bay rookie Boris Katchouk received a 10-minute misconduct following a scrum late in the third.
BLUE JACKETS 5, RED WINGS 3
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zach Werenski scored the go-ahead goal with 1:19 remaining after Yegor Chinakhov tied it with his first NHL goal, and Columbus snapped a two-game skid.
Boone Jenner added a goal and an assist, and Adam Boqvist and Alexandre Texier also scored for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzilikins had 24 saves.
Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmussen and Lucas Raymond scored for Detroit. Thomas Greiss stopped 33 shots.
The Blue Jackets trailed 2-0 in the second period and 3-2 in the third, but Chinakhov pulled Columbus even with 4:18 left. Jakub Voracek’s assist was his team-leading 12th and extended his point streak to six games.
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