Several factors led to this impressive victory: the Lightning received monster performances from their top players, twice they scored goals shortly after falling behind, and they delivered their best defensive outing since returning from the All-Star Break. They’ve now won three in a row and extended their home winning streak to eight consecutive games.
One of the game’s first big moments came late in the opening period. Bo Byram opened the scoring with a goal off the rush at 15:08. The Lightning weren’t happy with a non-call on the play — in the neutral zone, Byram grabbed Brandon Hagel’s jersey and slingshotted himself ahead of Hagel. But the Lightning answered the Byram goal two minutes and ten seconds later when they received two fortunate bounces. Off a Nikita Kucherov dump-in, the puck caromed off the boards to the front of the net. Sam Girard swatted the puck off Brayden Point, and the puck went into the net. Sixty-seven seconds later, the Lightning grabbed the lead. Following a goalmouth scramble, Hagel set up Kucherov at the side of the net for a one-timer past Justus Annunen.
The Lightning outplayed the Avs during the opening period, owning a 31-16 advantage in shot attempts. They also dominated the faceoff circle, winning 17 of 23 faceoffs. And, except for the play that led to the Byram goal, they held the Nathan MacKinnon line in check.
That dynamic changed in the second, a frame in which the MacKinnon line applied more consistent pressure. (This was true even as MacKinnon missed several shifts after taking a puck to the face.) Overall, it was an evenly played period. The Avs tied the game at the end of another rush chance. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped a close-range shot from Ross Colton, but Vasilevskiy didn’t realize the puck was behind him and not underneath him. Byram jabbed the puck across the goal line at 15:03.
The Avs grabbed the lead at 3:40 of the third when Artturi Lehkonen deflected in a MacKinnon shot just as a Colorado power play was expiring. But once again, the Lightning had a quick response after falling behind. This time, it took them only 20 seconds to tie the game. Kucherov sprung Steven Stamkos on a breakaway, and the Lightning captain finished his chance at 4:00. Just over four minutes later, the Lightning struck again. Stamkos held in a puck at the offensive blue line and maneuvered it to Point near the front of the net. With the Avs pressuring high in the zone, the Stamkos pass created a two-on-one advantage. Point worked the puck to Kucherov at the side of the net, and Kucherov roofed the puck over Annunen’s glove at 8:13.
The Lightning dictated play for much of the second half of the third period. They forced the Avs to defend in the Colorado end without the puck. They created several dangerous scoring chances (Annunen stopped them). The Avs did generate one excellent chance — a Zach Parise shot from the slot hit the crossbar and deflected out of play. With just under three minutes remaining, the Avalanche pulled Annunen for the extra attacker. But they were unable to apply heavy pressure, managing just one shot with their goalie on the bench. Instead, the Lightning intercepted pucks and executed clears. They narrowly missed the empty net on two occasions and ended up icing the puck. But they won four consecutive faceoffs during the six-on-five to help alleviate pressure, and although they lost the fifth one, they retrieved the puck soon after. This time, they didn’t miss the empty net. Anthony Cirelli made it 5-3 at 19:28. The Avs kept Annunen on the bench for the ensuing center-ice faceoff, which the Lightning won. Nick Perbix added another empty-netter, setting the final at 6-3.
MacKinnon had his dangerous moments during the game and contributed two assists. But Kucherov had the more impressive performance on this night. He tallied two goals and an assist If not for Annunen and a missed empty-netter, Kucherov would have had several additional points. He finished a game-high six shots on net and 15 attempts.
Next up for the Lightning will be the red-hot Florida Panthers, who have won 10 consecutive road games and have moved into a first-place tie with Boston atop the Atlantic Division.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. Two goals and assist.
- Erik Cernak — Lightning.
- Brayden Point — Lightning. Goal and assist.
