TAMPA - Pontus Holmberg recorded the first four-point night of his NHL career Thursday, powering the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 6-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Benchmark International Arena and keeping Tampa Bay unbeaten at home with a 6-0-0 record to start the season.
The Lightning, now 8-3-1 overall, scored four consecutive goals in the second period to build a 5-1 lead before Winnipeg rallied with three unanswered third-period goals to cut the deficit to one. Holmberg sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:31 remaining.
“In the second period things kind of rolled our way. Guys made plays when they had to, and I think the Cirelli line had a big matchup, and they came through…Pontus had a heck of a game and I think he earned all his points tonight,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
Brayden Point opened the scoring 2:20 into the game on a pass from Nikita Kucherov, but Jets defenseman Neal Pionk evened it before the end of the first period. The second period belonged to Tampa Bay: Conor Geekie tapped in a feed from Dominic James, Holmberg set up Anthony Cirelli on a power-play goal, then Holmberg added assists on goals by John Carlson and Brandon Hagel. Tampa Bay has now scored a power-play goal in five straight games.
Hagel and Cirelli each finished with three-point nights. Hagel credited Holmberg as the engine behind the offensive outburst. “It’s showing he’s always had it,” Hagel said of Holmberg’s offense. “That just doesn’t pop out of nowhere. He’s getting more confident. He’s a Swiss Army knife. If you ask him to do whatever, he’s gonna do it. I really enjoy his game.”
Winnipeg’s third-period push - featuring Dylan Samberg’s one-handed redirection, Pionk’s second goal from the right hashmark, and a 6-on-4 Kyle Connor score from the right faceoff circle - nearly erased the lead. Cooper acknowledged the lesson. “Maybe we took some things for granted in the third period against a team that was pushing hard and not giving up,” he said. “That was awesome by Winnipeg and probably taught us a lesson. So, we were happy we squeaked that one out but would have liked to have a little bit more breathing room than that game turned out to be.”
Holmberg, who finished with a goal and three assists, kept his assessment brief. “There were a couple of good plays,” he said. “Good finishing, so that was good. It was a good night.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 17 shots to preserve the win. The 6-0-0 home start ties the franchise record set in both 2020-21 and 2017-18. On the power play, Brandon Hagel credited assistant coach Jeff Halpern for the unit’s recent turnaround. “(Assistant coach Jeff Halpern) is doing an incredible job at dissecting it. He takes this thing to heart. He wants nothing but the best, and we want nothing but the best,” Hagel said. “Just trying different things, I think shooting the puck.”
Tampa Bay travels to Nashville for a 2 p.m. road matinee Saturday against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena.