Rapid Recap: Avalanche 6, Lightning 2

TAMPA, Fla.--Tyson Jost scored three goals for his first career NHL hat trick, and the Colorado Avalanche won 6-2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night at Amalie Arena.
Colin Wilson had assists on each of Jost's three markers, while J.T. Compher had a multi-point performance as well with two helpers. Nazem Kadri, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen also scored goals for Colorado.
Pavel Francouz made 44 saves, including 17 in the third period, to earn his second win in his second NHL start.

Jost, on passes from Compher, helped the Avs break open the game in the second period as he scored two of the team's three goals in the frame. The clubs were tied 1-1 after the first 20 minutes of play.
With now a 7-0-1 record on the season (15 points), the Avalanche's eight-game point streak is the second longest in franchise history (9-0-2, 2000-01) and marks its best start ever after eight outings.
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Watch: Coach Bednar Postgame

THE GOALS

1st Period
3:09 COL (1-0) - Tyson Jost took a pass from Samuel Girard in the slot and fired a hard shot to open the game's scoring. Colin Wilson also had an assist.
17:35 TBL (1-1) - Yanni Gourde tied the game on a low backhand shot that went off the post and in.
2nd Period
3:17 COL (2-1) - On a good breakout, J.T. Compher found Tyson Jost on the rush and Jost snapped a shot into the back of the cage for his second tally of the outing.
5:48 COL (3-1) - Nathan MacKinnon's shot from the high slot was redirected into the net by Gabriel Landeskog.
6:06 COL (4-1) - Tyson Jost completed the hat trick by burying his shot in front of the crease after receiving a pass from J.T. Compher.
3rd Period
5:06 TBL (4-1) - Penalty shot no goal, Nikita Kucherov missed wide on a backhand shot.
6:30 COL (5-1) - Nazem Kadri recorded his third goal of the season on a wrister from the mid-slot.
11:48 TBL (5-2) - Kevin Shattenkirk fired a shot from the point that Victor Hedman redirected into the net.
14:27 COL (6-2) - Mikko Rantanen carried the puck up the ice and skated it into the offensive zone before scoring his fifth of the year with a backhand shot.
Final: Avalanche - 6 | Lightning - 2

3 STARS

Selected by Tamp Bay media

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 0 for 2
Tampa Bay: 0 for 2

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Pavel Francouz made his second NHL start and recorded a career-high 44 saves
Tampa Bay: Andrei Vailevskiy allowed six goals on 24 shots

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Jost Does The Trick: Tyson Jost scored three goals for his first career NHL hat trick. He opened the game's scoring at 3:09 of the first period before scoring twice in a 2:49 span early in the second period to complete the hatty.
Colin Wilson recorded assists on each of Jost's tallies for his third career three-assist game.

NOTEBOOK

The Avs have recorded points in all eight games this season, their second-longest streak to start a campaign in franchise history (2000-01, 9-0-2)... MacKinnon extended his season-opening point streak to eight games with an assist. He opened last season with a stretch of nine straight games with at least a point… J.T. Compher had two helpers for his third career two-assist game and eighth multi-point performance… The Avs were playing the second half of a back-to-back set, the first of 12 such instances for them this year… Colorado won both games of a back-to-back set on the road for the first time since Feb. 22-23, 2019 at Chicago and Nashville... The Avalanche scored six goals for the second time this season (also: Oct. 14 at Washington) and the second time on this road trip. Colorado has registered four or more goals in six of its eight games this season, the first time the club has accomplished the feat since the 2008-09 campaign (also four or more goals in six of its first eight games). The Avs 4.38 goals-per-game average leads the NHL... The outing in Tampa ended a stretch of four straight contests against Eastern Conference opponents this season. The Avs have played a team from the East five times this season, sporting a 4-0-1 record... Referee Kelly Sutherland left in the first period with an injury and remained out of the game for precautionary reasons. The outing concluded with three on-ice officials… Tampa Bay was playing its first home game since its season opener on Oct. 3… The Avs and Bolts wrap up their season series on Feb. 17 in Denver.

QUOTABLE

Goaltender Pavel Francouz on facing the Tampa Bay Lightning: "It was a great challenge. I was of course a little nervous about the game because they have a lot of offensive players, but I was trying to see it as an opportunity and fun. I think it was a fun night."

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Hockey hugs.

ROSTER REPORT

Mark Barberio, Vladislav Kamenev and Valeri Nichushkin were the healthy scratches… Pavel Francouz started in net.

INJURY UPDATE

The Avalanche entered the game fully healthy.

UP NEXT

Colorado plays the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues on Monday at Enterprise Center. It is the first of five matchups this season between the Central Division rivals. The game is also the fifth stop of the Avalanche's season-long, six-game road trip.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
95 Andre Burakovsky - 91 Nazem Kadri - 72 Joonas Donskoi
22 Colin Wilson - 17 Tyson Jost - 37 J.T. Compher
83 Matt Nieto - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 11 Matt Calvert
Defensemen
49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
16 Nikita Zadorov - 8 Cale Makar
27 Ryan Graves - 28 Ian Cole
Goaltenders
39 Pavel Francouz (starter)
31 Philipp Grubauer (backup)