TAMPA, Fla. -- Buoyed by three power-play goals in the second period, the Tampa Bay Lightning pulled away to a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at Amalie Arena.

The Lightning (18-15-3) had scored five goals or more just twice in their first 31 games but have now done it three times in their last five games, building momentum in the middle of a six-game homestand.

The Blue Jackets (13-21-3) led 2-1 in the second period but saw the game unravel with three minor penalties called separately in a span of three seconds, leading to two five-on-three goals for the Lightning.

"Special teams won us a hockey game tonight," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We have to build on that. You start scoring a couple of goals, guys get their mojos flowing and get their confidence. It's a step in the right direction."

Lightning center Steven Stamkos scored twice in 32 seconds, giving him five goals in four games, and the Tampa Bay power play converted three times in the second to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.

"For me, personally, it was almost like a reset button," Stamkos said of the short holiday break. "The main goal was get your rest and come back. It's a new season and we have to look at it that way."

Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison got a steal and a goal with 15:21 left in the third period to close out the scoring.

The three power-play goals in one period came two days after the Lightning went 1 of 10 on power plays in a 2-1 loss to Vancouver on Thursday.

Columbus' defense has struggled, allowing five goals in four of the last five games.

The Blue Jackets' biggest hit of the night come against one of their own, with right winger Rene Bourque colliding with center Ryan Johansen. Both eventually skated off under their own power.

"You can't do that in this league. Guys are too good and they'll make you pay," Johansen said of the string of penalties. "It's just unfortunate we fell into the penalty trouble there and they capitalized."

The Lightning took control of the game with the three power-play goals in the second period, including the five-on-three goals by Stamkos in a span of 32 seconds to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Another extended power play -- three minutes after Blue Jackets left winger Scott Hartnell was assessed five minutes for charging and a game misconduct after he skated into Lightning goalie Ben Bishop behind the net -- resulted in another power-play goal for a 4-2 lead.

Columbus was called for three penalties in three seconds -- cross-checking, a faceoff violation and delay -- and Stamkos scored twice from the same spot in 32 seconds to beat Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo. The two goals gave Stamkos 16 for the season, including five in his last four games after a 10-game drought without a goal.

Not three minutes after the extended five-on-three, Hartnell ran into Bishop, setting off a string of fights, with two minutes of four-on-four hockey followed by a three-minute Lightning power play.

Late in that advantage, the Lightning converted on a no-look pass from right winger Ryan Callahan to defenseman Nikita Nesterov, who scored his second goal of the season for a 4-2 lead with 5:43 left in the second.

The three power-play goals were a welcome sight for the Lightning, who had lost 2-1 on Thursday despite having a season-high 10 power plays.

Columbus, down 1-0 early, jumped out to a 2-1 lead on two redirected goals -- Bourque had a shot carom off his skate from a shot by center Boone Jenner for Bourque's first goal of the season to tie the score at 1-1 midway through the first.

"You put yourself behind the eight ball with all those penalties," Bourque said. "We had a pretty good first period, but dug ourselves a hole. It's tough to come back and we didn't have the push we needed in the third to make this a game."

Hartnell scored his 14th goal of the season, redirecting a shot by defenseman Dalton Prout that went off the stick, off a skate, off the post and past Bishop for a 2-1 lead with 16:53 left in the second.

Tampa Bay took the early lead when right winger Mike Blunden redirected a shot from defenseman Andrej Sustr for his second goal of the season just 5:34 into the game.

NOTES: The Lightning continue to be hindered by injuries to key forwards -- LW Jonathan Drouin, C Tyler Johnson and LW Ondrej Palat remain out with injuries and C Brian Boyle (upper body) was a scratch for the second straight game. D Matthew Carle was a healthy scratch, and C Yanni Gourde (upper body) did not dress. ... The Blue Jackets played without LW Nick Foligno (lower body, second game), and RW Jared Boll and D Kevin Connaughton were healthy scratches. ... The Lightning still have another three games in their six-game homestand, with the Montreal Canadiens up next on Monday night. ... The Blue Jackets play a back-to-back with a game at the Florida Panthers on Sunday, then return home to open a three-game stand Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.