Avalanche Barrage Early, Hand Bolts Mile-High Loss
By Will Doro | Thunderstruck Sports
The Colorado Avalanche scored twice in the first six minutes and never let go, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 Friday night at Ball Arena. Jake Guentzel scored twice on the power play for Tampa Bay, which outshot Colorado 34-24, but the Bolts couldn't climb out of an early hole.
The loss drops the Bolts to 7-3-0 and snaps their three-game winning streak to open the road
trip. Nikita Kucherov was held off the scoresheet, leaving him tied with Steven Stamkos for the franchise points lead at 1,137.
Kucherov was double-teamed most of the night, and limited to two shots overall.
Fast Start Puts Lightning in a Hole
Martin Necas found Devon Toews in front of the net just 68 seconds in, with Nathan MacKinnon getting the assist. Jaden Schwartz appeared to make it 2-0 nearly five minutes in, but the goal was waved off after he kicked the puck past Mackenzie Blackwood.
Colorado did not have to wait long for another. With Brandon Hagel in the box for tripping, Nazem Kadri buried a pass from T.J. Hughes in the low slot at 5:52 to double the lead.
Tampa Bay controlled long stretches of the period and held a 12-9 edge in shots on goal, but
Colorado took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Guentzel Keeps the Bolts Within Reach
Fedor Svechkov made it 3-0 just 24 seconds into the second period, knocking in his own
rebound after Andrei Vasilevskiy poke-checked the puck away.
The Lightning answered on the man advantage. After Taylor Makar tripped Conor Geekie and a scuffle sent Sam Malinski and Dominic James off for roughing, Tampa Bay went to a 4-on-3, and Guentzel punched in a rebound off a one-timer from Charle-Edouard D'Astous.
Artturi Lehkonen restored the three-goal cushion at 13:57, finishing a MacKinnon setup in the
low slot for his ninth goal in 11 games.
Guentzel answered again late in the frame. With Colorado whistled for too many men on the ice, Brayden Point fed Guentzel at the doorstep to make it 4-2.
The Avalanche challenged, arguing the puck had hit the netting, but after a lengthy
review, officials ruled it hit the glass and the goal stood.
“Even if we scored tonight (on the power play), I think we’ve got to be better. We had so many chances and so many power plays," D'Astous said. "I think that could’ve turned the game around for us. It gave us a little bit of life in the second period, but at the end of the second, beginning of the third, we had a couple of chances. So, we’ve got to be better.”
Avalanche, MacKinnon Slams the Door
Any comeback hopes faded early in the third. At 4:18, MacKinnon took a drop pass from
Lehkonen at center ice, broke away and beat Vasilevskiy for his seventh goal of the season.
D'Astous cut the lead to 5-3 at 15:13, assisted by Gage Goncalves and Max Crozier.
However, Necas then sealed it with an empty-net goal two minutes later.
“I think some of our decisions and just some of our execution," Bolts center Brayden Point said. "I think we missed each other a lot out there. I don't think our support was close enough, and I don't think we played as a team enough”
Blackwood finished with 31 saves, while Vasilevskiy had his worst performance of the season, stopping only 18 of 25 shots for a .783 SAA.
Lightning captain Victor Hedman left the game in the second period after only eight shifts and 5:54 of ice time and did not return. His status is unclear.
On the plus side, Tampa Bay won 59% of its faceoffs and outhit Colorado 30-16, with Zemgus Girgensons winning 12 of 20 draws.
Tampa Bay's offensive letdowns and defensive miscues highlighted the loss and left a sour taste in Lightning coach Jon Cooper's mouth.
“We had almost 80 shot attempts, and 45 of them were either blocked or we missed the net, and that’s an issue," Cooper said. "You keep getting those chances, and we’re not doing anything with them. In the end, we got three, we gave up five, and then handed them a gift on the sixth one."
"If we’re not gonna defend, it’s tough to win a game.”
Three Stars of the Game
1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado. One goal and three assists, figuring in four of the
Avalanche's six goals.
2. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay. Two power-play goals to keep the Lightning in the game.
3. Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado. His ninth goal of the season restored a three-goal lead, and
he set up MacKinnon's breakaway goal.
Up Next
The Tampa Bay Lightning finish their back-to-back Saturday night against the Utah Mammoth. Puck drop is at 9 pm.
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