Holmberg's Career Night Keeps Lightning Perfect at Home as Jets' Slide Hits Seven
A three-goal burst in three minutes and four points from Pontus Holmberg sent Winnipeg to a seventh straight loss, 6-4 in Tampa.
The Winnipeg Jets' freefall has reached seven games, and the Tampa Bay Lightning's home fortress still has not cracked. Tampa Bay beat Winnipeg 6-4 at Benchmark International Arena on Thursday behind a career-high four-point night from Pontus Holmberg, staying perfect at home at 6-0-0 while handing the Jets a seventh consecutive loss, according to NHL.com.
Three minutes that broke it open
Brayden Point scored early, Neal Pionk answered late in the first, and Conor Geekie restored the lead in the second. Then came the burst that decided it: three Lightning goals in roughly three minutes late in the second period — Anthony Cirelli, John Carlson and Brandon Hagel — turning a tight game into a 5-1 rout and chasing Stuart Skinner, who allowed five goals on 21 shots. Nico Daws stopped nine in relief in his Jets debut.
Winnipeg made it interesting. Pionk's second, Dylan Samberg and Kyle Connor cut the lead to 5-4 in the third before Holmberg's empty-netter — his goal, to go with three assists — closed it out. Holmberg had entered the night with just six points in 11 games. "He earned all his points tonight," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said; Hagel called him "like a Swiss Army knife." Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 17 saves.
What it means
Tampa Bay is 8-3-1 and has matched the longest season-opening home winning streak in franchise history, with offseason signing Carlson — who joined on a two-year deal in July — chipping in from the blue line. Winnipeg, now 4-6-3 and 0-5-2 in its past seven, is searching for answers. "We made a lot of mistakes and we're all guilty of it," Pionk said, while coach Scott Arniel called the second-period collapse "pretty frustrating." The schedule will not wait for them to find the fix.