The Colorado Avalanche beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 at Amalie Arena in Tampa Thursday night.
The good news: the Lightning scored a goal! The bad news: the Lightning scored a goal. As in one. As in less than two. As in not enough. They broke a two-game streak of getting shut out but still didn’t muster enough offense to avoid their third straight loss (second in regulation).
Colorado opened the scoring at the 15:58 mark of the first on a goal by Alex Tanguay that was initially waved off on the ice but overturned upon video review. Jarome Iginla and Nathan MacKinnon picked up the assists.
Unable to capitalize on four minutes with the man advantage within the first seven minutes, the Lightning almost tied the game about three minutes after the Avalanche goal when Valtteri Filppula was denied on a shorthanded breakaway.
The same line doubled the Avalanche’s margin at 13:04 of the second, with MacKinnon scoring on assists from Iginla and Tanguay.
The Lightning finally got on the board at 15:46 on a power play goal from Alex Killorn, getting help from Victor Hedman and Filppula. The goal ended the scoreless streak at 156 minutes and and three seconds. The 2-1 score after two periods would turn out to be the final.
The Lightning did themselves no favors to start the third period, picking up three penalties within the first five minutes. Although, they did get another shorthanded breakaway opportunity in the opening minute with Ondrej Palat unable to cash in this time.
The Lightning will be in action again Saturday night when they host the Boston Bruins.
Game Notes:
- Jonathan Drouin and Cedric Paquette are considered “doubtful” for Saturday’s game. Both were scratched, along with Nikita Nesterov, tonight.
- Brian Boyle returned to the line-up after missing the previous three games.
- This was the first time Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy has experienced victory at any level of his career in Tampa Bay. Prior to tonight, he was a combined 0-7-1 during his Hall of Fame career as a goalie with the Montreal Canadiens and the Avalanche and 0-1-1 as a coach in games played in the Tampa Bay region.
- The penalty kill was a perfect 6 for 6 and hasn’t given up a goal in six straight games, successfully killing off 20 power plays.
- The Lightning have not led after the first period in any game this season.
- Tyler Johnson led Tampa Bay in scoring against Colorado last season with a goal and two assists in two games. He hasn’t scored a goal since June 6, Game Two of the Stanley Cup Final.
- This breaks a three-game winning streak at home over the Avalanche. The Lightning are 11-5-2 with a tie against Colorado at Amalie Arena.
- The Lightning are now 0-2-0 in the first home game following a road trip this season.
- The Lightning honored H. Lee Moffitt as the fourth Lightning Community Hero of the year during the first period of tonight’s game. Moffitt, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation. Moffitt founded the Moffitt Cancer Center, which opened its doors in 1986. Since it’s commencement, the facility has helped thousands of patients who are in need of quality cancer treatment. Moffitt was motivated when he lost three close friends to cancer. His friends had to seek treatment outside of the state because there was no National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Care Center in Florida. His vision for what Florida needed turned into a reality. Today, the Cancer Center draws more than 339,000 outpatient visits a year from all 50 states and 100 different countries and is known for its high quality of patient care and outcomes.Moffitt continues to lobby pro bono in Tallahassee on behalf of the Cancer Center. Due to his visionary approach, the Cancer Center has received $50 million a year in outside research grants and conducts 400 clinical trials a year. With over 4,600 employees, Moffitt has made a $1.6 billion economic impact in the state. Moffitt experts have been pioneering breakthroughs for a future that promises greater progress in saving lives and reducing cancer to a highly treatable illness.
