Through the first two periods, it was a different story, however. While both teams created scoring chances, the Avalanche had an edge in play. They outshot the Lightning, 33-24, and produced more scoring opportunities. Two of those chances for the Avs went in the net - Artturi Lehkonen fired a shot past a screened Vasilevskiy in the opening minute of the game and Nathan MacKinnon redirected in a Bo Byrum centering pass at 6:21 of the second period. But Vasilevskiy turned aside the other 31 shots, a number of which came from prime scoring areas. Alexander Georgiev wasn't tested quite as often, but he was sharp in keeping the Lightning off the board through the first 33 minutes.
But the Lightning finally broke through at 13:09 of the middle period. Off the rush, J.T. Compher attempted a shot from the bottom of the right circle. When he missed wide on the far side, the puck hit the corner boards and caromed out to center ice, where Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov countered on a two-on-one. Kucherov finished Point's centering pass, pulling the Lightning to within a goal.
The Lightning tied the game at two on the opening shift of the third. Steven Stamkos set up Anthony Cirelli in the slot - Cirelli's shot fluttered past Georgiev at :26. The Lightning didn't make many mistakes with the puck in the third period, but one of them led to Denis Malgin's go-ahead goal at 2:03. Malgin stormed off the Colorado bench, intercepted a Lightning clearing attempt, skated to the slot, and wired a shot past Vasilevskiy's stick.
But again, the Lightning answered. This time, it was Colorado that paid a steep price for a failed d-zone clear. Corey Perry knocked down Kurtis MacDermid's backhand clearing attempt and slid the puck towards the net. Vlad Namestnikov won the puck battle from MacDermid, creating an odd-man advantage down low. Namestnikov took the puck himself to the front of the net, deked to his backhand, and finished the shot at 4:10.
Although third period shots ended up 12-10 for Colorado, the Lightning were the sharper team in the final frame. They consistently applied pressure and generated several additional scoring chances. Third period shot attempts finished 23-13 in favor of Tampa Bay.
Given the talent level on both sides, overtime was surprisingly choppy. Each side managed just one shot on net. In the shootout, Stamkos scored on the first Lightning attempt and that was all that Vasilevskiy needed. Evan Rodrigues failed to put a shot on net and then Vasilevskiy stopped MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen to seal the win.
This was a hard-fought triumph for the Lightning. But there's no time for recovery. They finish their back-to-back on Wednesday night in Arizona.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 43 saves.
2. Nikita Kucherov - Lightning. Goal.
3. Nathan MacKinnon - Avalanche. Goal and assist.
