Zach Werenski’s goal in OT and 5-point game helps Blue Jackets to 7-6 win over Lightning

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zach Werenski's goal at 1:25 of overtime punctuated a five-point game as the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied from an early three-goal deficit and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-6 on Thursday night.

Werenski had tied the game at 4 in the second period and added three assists as the Blue Jackets won their second straight game. Sean Monahan had a goal and three assists and Dmitri Voronkov added a goal and an assist. Kent Johnson scored on a power play and short-handed in his first game back after missing 14 contests due to an injury sustained on Oct. 17. Yegor Chinakhov added a goal and Elvis Merzlikins stopped 24 shots.

Anthony Cirelli, Mitchell Chaffee, Brandon Hagel and Connor Geekie each had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. Brayden Point and Cam Atkinson also scored, and Nikita Kucherov finished with three assists. Jonas Johansson made 36 saves.

Lightning: Tampa Bay appeared to be cruising after scoring three goals in the first, but failed to hold the lead.

Blue Jackets: Columbus returned home after seven of its last eight games on the road and scored four times in the second period.

Tampa Bay jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period before the second turned into a shootout with Columbus scoring four times and Tampa twice.

Brayden Point, in his second game back from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for four games, scored a power-play goal at 1:51 of the first period—just 23 seconds into a Columbus penalty. Point has three goals in two games and is tied with Nikita Kucherov for the team lead with 11.

Both teams are back in action Saturday night. The Lightning host Dallas, while the Blue Jackets host Carolina.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski celebrates his game-winning overtime goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. The Blue Jackets won 7-6. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, right, controls the puck in front of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov (59) shoots the puck from between Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson, left, defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg (78) and forward Nikita Kucherov (86) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mitchell Chaffee, right, passes the puck in front of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Justin Danforth during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Sean Monahan, left, works for the puck in front of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8) scores the winning overtime goal past Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson, left, defenseman Victor Hedman (77) and forward Nikita Kucherov (86) during an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Dmitri Voronkov, right, watches a goal by teammate Zach Werenski (not shown) get past Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

HONG KONG (AP) — Fireworks are typically a celebratory centerpiece of Hong Kong's New Year celebrations. Not this year.

The territory will ring in 2026 without spectacular and colorful explosions in the sky over its iconic Victoria Harbor after a massive fire in November that killed at least 161 people.

The city’s tourism board will instead host a music show Wednesday night featuring soft rock duo Air Supply and other singers in Central, a business district that also is home to the famous nightlife hub Lan Kwai Fong. The facades of eight landmarks will turn into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight.

Fireworks have long been part of the city’s celebrations for the New Year, Lunar New Year and National Day. The pyrotechnic displays against Hong Kong’s world-famous skyline of skyscrapers typically draw hundreds of thousands of people including many tourists to both sides of the promenade.

Rosanna Law, the territory's secretary for culture, sports and tourism, acknowledged Tuesday that having no fireworks would affect some hotel and restaurant businesses.

The financial hub’s worst blaze since 1948 broke out at Wang Fuk Court, in the northern suburban district of Tai Po, in late November. The apartment complex was undergoing a monthslong renovation project with buildings covered by bamboo scaffolding and green netting.

Authorities have pointed to the substandard netting and foam boards installed on windows as contributing factors in the fire’s rapid spread. Thousands of affected residents have moved to transitional homes, hotels and youth hostels, struggling to recover from the loss of lives and homes that took them years to buy. The casualties pained many residents across the city.

Past tragedies in Hong Kong have forced similar cancellations of fireworks. They include the 2013 National Day festivities following a vessel collision that killed 39 people on Oct. 1, 2012, and the 2018 Lunar New Year celebration after a bus crash that left 19 dead. During the 2019 anti-government protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple displays also were scrapped.

The origin of fireworks is believed to date to China in the second century B.C., when someone discovered bamboo stalks exploded with loud bangs when thrown into fire, creating the first natural “firecrackers,” according to the American Pyrotechnics Association, a U.S. trade group.

The Guinness World Records organization says the first accurately documented firework, the Chinese firecracker, was created by Li Tian, a monk from China’s Tang dynasty dating to around 618 to 907 C.E. Li discovered that putting gunpowder in enclosed hollow bamboo stems created loud explosions and bound crackers together to create the traditional New Year firecrackers to drive out evil spirits, Guinness said.

People gather at Lan Kwai Fong to celebrate the start of 2026 in the Central district of Hong Kong, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People attend the New Year countdown event to celebrate the start of 2026 in the Central district of Hong Kong, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People take selfies at Lan Kwai Fong to celebrate the start of 2026 in the Central district of Hong Kong, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People pose for photographs at Lan Kwai Fong to celebrate the start of 2026 in the Central district of Hong Kong, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

FILE - Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour to celebrate the start of 2025 at Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei, File)