Landeskog Scores In Avalanche Return

TAMPA--If Gabriel Landeskog wanted to make a statement in his return to the ice after being forced to be a spectator for four games, he sure did.
The problem was the Colorado Avalanche wasn't able to sustain that intensity for the rest of the game.

Landeskog scored just 1:21 after the opening faceoff, but the Avs fell 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night at Amalie Arena. Colorado was within one score entering the final frame, but the Bolts tallied a power-play marker less than five minutes into the period and then added a short-handed, empty-net goal late to seal their 20th win of the season.
"As a young team, we have to pay attention to the process and continue to find things to build on," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. "To me, there were some things in that game that were better than what we did the last three games at home. It's a step forward, and now we have to take another step and find a way to get the result we want."
The start of the contest was exactly what the Avs were looking for against the best team in the NHL.
Landeskog tallied on a great individual effort as he drove to the front of the net, outwaited Tampa goaltender Peter Budaj and sent a backhand shot into the twine. It was his 10th goal of the season, tied for team lead with Nathan MacKinnon.
"Excited to be back out there and saw an opportunity to take it to the net," Landeskog said. "Got lucky."
The left wing had missed the past four contests while serving a suspension for an illegal cross check to the head of Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk on Nov. 25. Tkachuk wasn't hurt on the play and finished the contest.
Landeskog was one of Colorado's best players prior to his league-mandated break. He had recorded seven goals and six assists in his previous 14 contests, and his line with MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen was one of the most dominant in the league.
"A little rusty and some decisions with the puck, I got to make some stronger plays. I felt OK for the first one," Landeskog said when assessing his return to action after having 11 days between games. "I think our line got going in the third period. The first period we got hemmed in way too much. Second and third period we got going, and we need more out of that. Now we have to be able to finish plays."
The Avs captain finished with four penalty minutes, three shots on five attempts, had two hits and won 5-of-11 faceoffs, an area where the team ended the night with only a 43-percent success rate.
"It's definitely great having your captain out there, and he showed it right from the start," said teammate J.T. Compher. "You can't replace a guy like that in the locker room or on the ice."
The Lightning scored timely goals against the Avalanche, including tying the game at 1-1 just 25 seconds after Landeskog's marker.
"I certainly liked our emotion and effort that we played tonight," Bednar said. "I liked our start. We get on the board. We gave one right back, which hurt."
A power-play goal by Alex Killorn at 4:57 of the third period was the difference maker, as Tampa finished 1-for-5 with the man advantage.
"Eventually, if you keep giving them chances on the power play, they're going to find a play like they did there," Bednar said. "They catch you tired, they wear you down and eventually one ends up in the back of your net. That was a big goal against."
The Avalanche has now lost its last four games and has three more contests on this east coast road trip.
"We're going to have to watch some video and assess what we're doing and what we can do better and what is really costing us," Landeskog said. "There is going to be some studying of our game, and we got to make sure that we take the positives but also learn from it as well. That's four in a row now, we have to find a way to get out of this one."
The next chance will be Saturday night at the Florida Panthers.

NEMETH RETURNS

Defenseman Patrik Nemeth played his first game in more than a month on Thursday night.
Nemeth missed 12 contests with a lower-body injury, with him last playing on Nov. 5 at the New York Islanders.
"It's been boring and frustrating," Nemeth said of rehabbing for the past month. "We decided to make sure it was 100 percent before I got back. Make sure it's healed properly instead of being dinged up the whole year. It was just better to shut it down, and make sure it's good."
Among the games the blueliner missed were two in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, for the SAP NHL Global Series against the Ottawa Senators.
"It's tough to sit out, especially when your home," Nemeth said. "Every time you sit out, it's frustrating. You want to help the team and you want to be a part of it. You want to be a part of the solution if you lose, and you want to be a part of the fun things when you win. You always want to play."
On Thursday, Nemeth skated with his D-partner before he got hurt, Tyson Barrie, and saw 15:31 of ice time and recorded three hits and three blocked shots. He has a goal and five assists in 13 games with the Avs this year, his first with the team.

GOING 11 & 7

The Avalanche used a nontraditional hockey lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Lightning.
One purpose for going with that alignment was to get Nemeth back into game action and to use the size and physicality that the 6-foot-3, 219-pound rear guard brings.
"He's been out for a long time. That is one of the reasons why we're playing seven," Bednar said after morning skate. "I think we need him in the lineup. We need some heaviness and some experience down there. [Tampa Bay is] a real quick team, can put you under pressure. We have had some guys back there that have been in and out of their game, and we got to make sure that we have at least six guys going tonight back there."
Duncan Siemen was the only healthy scratched defenseman. Gabriel Bourque and Nail Yakupov didn't play among the forward corps.