Colorado Avalanche (31-3-7) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (25-13-3)
5 p.m. MT | Benchmark International Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
The Avalanche begins the second half of its schedule and completes its three-game road trip on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is the second and final regular-season meeting between the teams, as the Avalanche defeated the Lightning 3-2 on November 4th in Denver.
Latest Result (COL): COL 1, FLA 2
Latest Result (TBL): TBL 7, SJS 3
Defeat in Florida
The Avalanche lost 2-1 to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday. Artturi Lehkonen scored for Colorado, Josh Manson and Brock Nelson each posted an assist while Scott Wedgewood stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced. Florida’s Sam Bennett opened the scoring at 6:27 of the first period with a shot from the doorstep after a drive to the net. Lehkonen tied the game at 11:51 of the first period with his 15th goal of the season via a deflection from the slot on Manson’s right-point slap shot. The Panthers took a 2-1 lead when Aaron Ekblad scored via a right-circle slap shot at 18:12 of the third period.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (74) and goals (35) while ranking tied for fourth in assists (39).
All Hail Cale
Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar is first in points (47), tied for first in assists (35) and tied for third in goals (12). His 35 assists are tied for seventh among all NHL skaters.
Marty Party
Martin Necas is seventh in the NHL in points (53) and ninth in assists (34).
Series History
In 46 previous regular-season games against the Lightning, the Avalanche has a record of 22-17-3-4. The teams have met once in the playoffs, with the Avalanche defeating the Lightning in six games in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.
Success in San Jose
The Lightning defeated the San Jose Sharks 7-3 on Saturday at SAP Center at San Jose. Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead in the first period after goals from Brayden Point at 2:37, Darren Raddysh at 4:08 and Brandon Hagel at 6:46. At 10:50 of the first period, Pavol Regenda put the Sharks on the board with a power-play goal. Raddysh gave the Lightning a 4-1 lead with his second goal of the game via a power-play goal at 2:49 of the middle frame. At 3:55 of the second period, Tampa Bay's Dominic James gave the Lightning a 5-1 lead. Regenda scored his second tally of the game at 9:50 of the middle frame to make it 5-2. The Lightning took a 7-2 lead after second-period power-play goals from Nikita Kucherov at 14:08 and Raddysh, who completed his hat trick, at 16:53. In the third period, Regenda completed his hat trick to make it 7-3 at 16:11.
Lighting the Lamp Against the Lightning
MacKinnon has posted 32 points (11g/21a) in 22 regular-season games against the Lightning, in addition to six points (2g/4a) in six playoff contests.
Brent Burns has registered 18 points (5g/13a) in 35 games against the Lightning.
In nine regular-season contests against Tampa Bay, Makar has registered eight points (2g/6a), as well as seven points (3g/4a) in six playoff games.
Tallying Points for Tampa Bay
Kucherov leads the Lightning in goals (20), assists (39) and points (59).
Jake Guentzel is second on the Lightning in points (43) and assists (25) while ranking third in goals (18).
Hagel is second on the Lightning in goals (19), third in points (36) and fourth in assists (17).
A Numbers Game
21
Colorado has allowed an NHL-fewest 21 third-period goals.
85.6%
The Avalanche’s 85.6% mark on the penalty kill is the best in the NHL.
19
Necas’ 19 even-strength points since December 1st are the third most in the NHL in that time span.
Quote That Left a Mark
“Move on. Keep playing. That’s all you can do. We’ve been fortunate this year. We’ve had some injuries, we’ve had some guys miss [time], but nothing too long-term and too serious, which is always good. So, we’ve got some depth and now we lost what, four guys this week? So hopefully some of those guys can get healthy here quickly and get back and help us. Until then, everyone’s gonna have to pick up a little bit of extra slack.”
-- Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar on how the team responds after recent injuries to Gabriel Landeskog, Joel Kiviranta, Devon Toews and Mackenzie Blackwood
