COLUMBUS — Ben Bishop made 37 saves, Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 on Sunday to stop a three-game losing streak.
It was Bishop’s fourth shutout of the season and No. 16 for his career.
Ondrej Palat had a goal and an assist and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored as the Lightning broke out on offense after scoring three times in their last three games.
Tampa Bay (40-24-5) moved into a tie with idle Florida (38-21-9) for second in the Atlantic Division with 85 points, but Nikita Kucherov and Valtteri Filppula left with injuries.
Bishop hung in there as Columbus crashed the net for much of the day. He helped Tampa Bay carry a 1-0 lead into the final period, and the Lightning put it away with three goals in the third, two of them short-handed.
Sergei Bobrovsky had 33 saves for Columbus in his second straight start since missing 19 games with another groin injury. The Blue Jackets have dropped three of four.
Stamkos scored for the first time in five games early in the second period. He beat Bobrovsky at 5:29 with a one-timer off a pass from Kucherov. It was his 30th goal of the season.
Bishop drew the ire of Columbus fans late in the first period, leading to a round of boos the rest of the way whenever he was involved with the play.
Bishop reached over the crossbar during a skirmish to put his glove on the face of Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno. When Foligno skated out of the area and past the crease, he shoved Bishop.
A bit later, Bishop sat on his rear to the side of the goal as Alexander Wennberg scored into a gaping net. But it was waved off because of incidental contact on Bishop by Boone Jenner.
The Bishop-Foligno antics carried into the second period. They collided behind the net while converging on a puck at 7:38. Foligno was given a tripping penalty. With 25 seconds remaining in the period, Foligno was pushed onto Bishop during a scramble for a loose puck.
That all became a distant memory in the third when the Lightning easily pulled away.
Dalton Prout coughed up his breakout pass and Namestnikov scored from the slot at 8:45 for this 12th. Stamkos added another goal on a 2-on-0 short-handed break just over two minutes later. Palat added another short-handed score on a pass from Stamkos at 14:39.
NOTES: Stamkos has notched 30 or more goals five times in eight seasons. … Columbus LW Brandon Saad, who is tied for the team lead with 24 goals, returned to the ice after not dressing for three games with an upper-body injury. … Tampa Bay is 24-10-1 when Bishop allows two goals or less. … Linesman Steve Miller appeared to injure his leg when Tampa Bay D Braydon Coburn ran into him along the boards early in the second period. He did not return. … The Lightning swept the season series.
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