This is an 8* on TAMPA BAY

Tampa Bay got a much needed win in Game 3. They had our endorsement and never trailed en route to their second 3-2 victory of the series. They outshot the Blue Jackets 2:1 (34-17) and concerning for Columbus is whether or not the team may have “run out of gas.” Coach John Tortorella seemed to think so based on his post-game comments. Remember that the Blue Jackets have already gone through a five-game qualification series as well as the 5OT marathon in Game 1. Up 2-1 in the series, the Lightning have confidence against the team that pulled off that shocking sweep in last year’s playoffs. They have outshot Columbus in every game so far. To that point, the Blue Jackets have been outshot in six of their eight games since the restart. They had only eight shots on goal over the last 50 minutes of Game 3. While they had Sunday off, that’s probably not enough to recharge. Undervalued because of what happened in last year’s playoffs, the Lightning win again and take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Play on TAMPA BAY

AAA