TAMPA — Ross Colton has been part of some pretty big moments during his first 10 games in the NHL. And the rookie forward continues to deliver.
The Lightning needed a boost late in the third quarter Thursday night, down a goal to the Columbus Blue Jackets and in danger of losing their fourth straight game.
Tampa Bay’s fourth line led a five-man rush, with Pat Maroon moving the puck down the left side. Colton was trailing, and called for the puck.
Just before he was about to take a hit into the boards, Maroon dropped a pass for Colton. The rookie skated to the left circle and unloaded a wrister inside the far post that tied the game with 5:12 remaining.
That was the strike the Lightning needed. Just 66 seconds later, Brayden Point backhanded a shot that deflected into the net for his second goal of the game to give the Lightning a 3-2 win at Amalie Arena that ended their season-high three-game losing streak.
“It’s great to see,” Point said of Colton. “He works hard and practices hard. He does the little things right, and to see him have success is awesome. It takes a pretty special player to be able to jump right in and contribute, and he’s done that.”
There’s no doubt the 24-year-old has shown a penchant for the big moment. The first two goals of Colton’s career were game-winners, including a tie-breaking, third-period goal in the Lightning’s 4-2 win over Chicago two weeks ago. He also scored a huge goal in the first round of the shootout to propel Tampa Bay to a 4-3 win in Dallas.
Thursday’s score came after Columbus forward Eric Robinson used his speed to turn the corner on Lightning defenseman Cal Foote along the left side and beat goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (who had 36 saves) with 9:06 remaining.
“I thought our urgency was there,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We were fighting through the third period. They kind of beat us wide, but I honestly think our urgency picked up a little bit more once that goal went in and we were just building momentum, and then obviously when Ross scored it was a little bit of a release.”
The Lightning came out fast, but Columbus controlled play for most of the second period and well into the third. Victor Hedman saved a goal by preventing Boone Jenner’s shot from crossing the goal line with his stick. And Tampa Bay hit the post four times over the game’s final 22 minutes.
Colton found a way to deliver, utilizing quick thinking and preparation rare for such a young player to score the game-tying goal.
“I just like that Coach believes in me and has the confidence in me to put me out there with our line out there in the third period,” Colton said. “We had some good chances, and I think that the coach sees that and we stick with it and good things happen when you play the right way.”
Colton said that in pregame scouting meetings, coaches said Columbus has a tendency to back down going into its defensive zone, so Colton thought he’d have some room to skate. And when he crossed the left circle, he remembered that he passed up a similar look earlier in the game and came away empty. He wasn’t going to do that again.
“That time I just wanted to get pucks on net, and luckily, it went in,” Colton said.
He also remembered from the scouting meeting that Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins was susceptible low to his glove side. He noticed Foote skating toward the far post, so he knew he’d be in place for a potential rebound.
The Lightning didn’t need that, because Colton’s wrister sailed under Merzlikins’ glove and over his pad into the back of the net.
“(Colton’s) only played a few games with us and he scored some mighty big goals for us in such a short amount of time — like, timely goals,” Cooper said. “I’m sure it doesn’t get old.”
Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieInTheYard.
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