Memorable, But Bittersweet Ending Against Lightning

A captain's job is to lead both on and off the ice, and Colorado Avalanche skipper Gabriel Landeskog did just that in the team's attempt of a memorable comeback.
Landeskog recorded a career-high five points and tallied his second hat trick of the season (and career) on Saturday night, as the Avs tried to roar back after being down 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning early in the third period.

Despite having the momentum late and getting several great scoring chances in the closing minutes, Colorado fell just short of a remarkable comeback in one of the most exciting games of the year. The Avs lost 6-5 to the league-leading Lightning in an electric environment at Pepsi Center.
"We wanted to push and play hard and try to throw some pucks on net and get some bodies there," Landeskog said. "All of a sudden, we get a couple quick ones, and we bring it within one and things start to happen and the building is getting loud and the momentum is in our favor. It's all about that momentum."
Landeskog, who contributed on every Avalanche goal, nearly had his fourth tally of the evening in the last minute of play. Nathan MacKinnon made a perfect pass to the tape of Landeskog's stick in the low slot, but the left wing's ensuing shot was denied by the glove of Lightning goaltender Peter Budaj.
"That was a Grade-A scoring chance in the middle of the slot. Those are the ones you dream about," Landeskog said. "That would have made it a great night."

Landeskog entered the contest two points away from 300 in his NHL career, and he reached that mark with his second goal of the evening at 4:58 of the third period. It came 2:29 after Anton Stralman scored his second of the night to stretch the Lightning's lead to 5-1.
That's when things started rolling for Landeskog and the Avs. He scored his hat trick on the power play at 7:17 of the period, but not many hats were immediately thrown onto the ice as it was tough for the fans to see if Landeskog touched the puck in real time. Replays later showed that Landeskog, stationed in the low slot, deflected Tyson Barrie's shot from near the blue line.
The hats eventually flew from the stands at the next stoppage of play when the goal was announced by the public address announcer.

MacKinnon made it a one-goal game at 9:22 of the final period, but even after Tampa stretched its lead back to two, the Avs kept pushing. MacKinnon added a second with 5:46 left to put Colorado back within striking distance of forcing overtime.
"It was a crazy game. I'm sure it was an exciting game for the fans and for the players, too," said Avalanche defenseman Mark Barberio. "Lots of back-and-forth action. I thought we showed a lot of determination in the third period. We were down 5-1 early. We never showed any quit. It's definitely a positive that we can take."
What ended up hurting the Avalanche was a 4:10 stretch in the middle of the second period when the Lightning scored four times, including twice while both teams were serving a penalty.
"The 4-on-4 ones stick with me a little bit because it was too easy," said Colorado head coach Jared Bednar. "Puck watching, coming into the zone and gravitating toward the puck. Good players are going to find the open man, and we left a couple guys open there and it cost us two goals."

Tampa Bay's fifth goal was also during 4-on-4 action, and Bednar noted the onus isn't just on the players during those situations.
"We're in it together, so I got to share the blame," Bednar said. "Four-on-four, we haven't had a lot of it, we haven't practiced it a lot."
There will be plenty that Bednar and the Avs won't like about their performance in the high-scoring affair, but one of the positives that stand out is the club's no-quit attitude. Even after being down by four goals, Colorado stuck with the process, was aggressive and controlled the pace of the game.
"We have nothing to lose, we're on the hunt," Bednar said. "We're the aggressors, and that is what we talked to our team about before the game, that we couldn't give them too much respect. We had to play our game and part of that is getting aggressive.
"Once they got those four goals, we had the next five scoring chances and that's because we started digging in and getting aggressive. Our forwards were rolling, and our D was up the ice. We wanted to take that mentality into the third period, and I think we did."
Landeskog is the second Avalanche player to record five points in a game this season--joining MacKinnon, who had a goal and four assists on Nov. 16 against the Washington Capitals one--and is the first Colorado skater to record multiple hat tricks in a campaign since Milan Hejduk in 2006-07. He had his first hat trick a month earlier to the day in that contest versus the Capitals.
Saturday night also marked the first time that the franchise has had a player tally three times in a regulation loss since Mats Sundin had a hat trick with the Quebec Nordiques on Dec. 5, 1992 versus the Minnesota North Stars (7-4 loss).
It marked a bittersweet night for Landeskog and his teammates. The achievements and comeback attempt was nice, but the loss of two points in the standings is what stings.
"I think it is something when it is all said and done, maybe at the end of the season or at the end of your career, you sit down and maybe that was a cool night and was a lot of fun," Landeskog said of his big game. "It would have been a lot better if I put that last one in, too."

CAN'T STOP MACK

Nathan MacKinnon continued his torrid pace, as he had two goals and an assist in the third period versus Tampa to bring his season total to 15 markers and 38 points after 32 contests.
MacKinnon entered the game with 30 points (12 goals and 18 assists) in his last 21 games dating back to Oct. 28, which was tied with the Winnipeg Jets' Blake Wheeler for the league's highest total in that span.
His two tallies against the Lightning also signified his third-straight multi-goal game at Pepsi Center. MacKinnon now has 27 points (11 goals and 16 assists) in 16 home contests this season.

MORE POSTGAME NOTES

The Avs' three hat tricks this season are tied for the most of any team (Chicago, Washington, New York Islanders, Winnipeg) and it's the most by an Avalanche team since the 2007-08 campaign.
The last time an Avalanche player recorded a hat trick in a loss was Nov. 4, 2011 at Dallas (SOL, 7-6; Matt Duchene). It's the first time in Avalanche history that a player has recorded a hat trick in a regulation loss. The last player in franchise history to score three goals in a regulation loss was Mats Sundin (Dec. 5, 1992 vs. Minnesota, L 7-4).
Tyson Barrie tied a career high with three assists. He now has 23 helpers on the season, which is tied for the team lead and tied for first among NHL defensemen.
The 11 goals scored between the two teams is a new season high for the Avalanche for combined goals in a game.
Four goals in the third period matches a season high for goals in a single frame (Dec. 9 at Florida, 3rd period).
Colorado's 19 shots in the third period is a new season high for shots in a period, surpassing the previous high of 18 shots (Oct. 13 vs. Anaheim, first period).
The Avs held the Lightning scoreless on two power-play opportunities, extending their streak to a season-high 13 consecutive kills. Colorado's penalty kill is now 47-for-51 at home (92.2 percent), the third-best home penalty kill in the league.
Nikita Zadorov matched a career high with two points, the fourth multi-point game of his career (last: Jan. 23, 2017 vs. San Jose).