The Colorado Avalanche lost their composure and gave in to fatigue after playing the Tampa Bay Lightning after a protracted road trip. In the third period, the Lightning outperformed the Avalanche, and they won to end the evening.
First period
For the Avalanche, the initial part of the first period appeared stable. Following a trade of penalties and numerous shots between the two sides, it was Brown Byram who gave the Avalanche the lead. After Brandon Hagel of the Lightning lost possession of the puck, Byram scored his sixth goal of the year. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen both recorded assists.
The ball slid over Brayden Point’s shoulder with three minutes left, setting up his 26th goal of the year. The Avalanche gave up the puck in their own zone shortly after, which opened the door for another Lightning goal.With help from Hagel and Anthony Cirelli, Nikita Kucherov scored his 35th goal of the year.
In terms of both points and assists, Kucherov is still leading the league. He has 93 points, 36 goals, and 57 assists in 57 games this season as of tonight’s contest.
Second period
Rantanen’s two-minute cutting penalty opened the second. This was eliminated by the Avalanche barely in time to prevent MacKinnon from taking a deflected puck to the face. With six minutes to spare and a larger visor, MacKinnon made his way back to the ice from the locker room.
After Andrei Vasilevskiy, the goalie for the Lightning, fails to cover the ball, Byram scores his second goal of the game. The Avalanche ended the second half with a 21–23 deficit in shots on goal.
Third Period
With a tipped-in goal to start the third, Artturi Lehkonen gave the Avalanche a 3-2 lead. He was helped by MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin. Lehkonen has scored three goals and provided three assists in his last two games since returning.
The lead held by Avalanche did not last long. Steven Stamkos scored a goal of his own after Kucherov and Victor Hedman combined twenty seconds later. After that, Kucherov scored again for the Lightning, giving them a 4-0 lead and his third point of the game. The Avalanche’s control over the game was broken at this point.
In order to wrap out the evening, Colorado pulled Justus Annunen and put a different player on the ice. Cirelli and Nick Perbix scored on the empty net with just a minute left. In the end, the Lightning prevailed 6–3.
Conclusions
In his impressive performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Justus Annunen stopped 33 of the 37 shots he faced. He came up with big saves when the club needed them most.
Byram had two goals and excellent defense on his own, making it a night to remember. Tonight, MacKinnon added two more points to his record.
The Colorado Avalanche will host the Arizona Coyotes at Ball Arena on Sunday afternoon.
