The matchup in Tampa Bay wrapped up a four-game journey through the Eastern Conference for Colorado. The Avs defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 on Sunday, lost 6-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday and then beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Thursday.
The Lightning struck 3:05 into the first period on the power play and never relinquished the lead. Tampa Bay finished the game 2-for-3 with the man advantage and held the Avalanche scoreless on two opportunities.
"PK is a reflection of our 5-on-5 game tonight, that's it," said Bednar. "We just weren't good enough tonight. The PK followed that, the power play followed that."
The Avalanche looks to bounce back as it returns home to face the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Colorado will play five of its next six contests and nine of 12 at Pepsi Center.
"It's disappointing. We didn't play to our standard and that is never acceptable in this organization," Tyson Jost said. "It is disappointing obviously. We got to take some of the negatives but can't dwell on it. We got to come out better next game for sure."
END OF THE BUSY ROAD SWING:The trip also marked the conclusion of a stretch that had Colorado on the road for 19-of-28 outings.
Colorado is 11-6-2 as the visiting team this year, the most away points (24) in the NHL and tied for the most wins with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Being away from home provided a chance for the team to come together both on and off the ice and strengthen bonds between players.
"I prefer being on the road early in the year because there is a handful of new guys, and it's a time where guys spend a lot of time with one another and get to know the new guys," Gabriel Landeskog said after morning skate. "Sort of once you get home and you are in Denver, everybody has families and other obligations, so it's always good to be on the road at the start of the year."
The Avs are now nearly halfway done with their road schedule and lead all teams in road games played, having completed 19.
"We have been on the road a lot. It seems like we haven't really slept in our own beds here this last month and a half," said Jost. "It will be nice to go back to the Pepsi Center in front of our own fans. We need to rebound. We need to be a lot better than we were tonight and everybody knows that. We can't dwell on it, we just need to be better."
20 IN 30 FOR MacK:Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche in the first period, his 20th tally of the season.
His 20 markers in the team's 30th contest of the campaign equaled the Avalanche record for the fewest team games to reach the mark. Joe Sakic tallied his 20th in Colorado's 30th outing in 1995-96.
