Tampa Bay 5, Colorado 2
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Referees:
Brian Pochmara, Brandon Schrader
Linesmen:
Tyson Baker, Brandon Gawryletz
Attendance:
18019
By Field Level Media
Jake Guentzel scored twice, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists and the Tampa Bay Lightning used a quick start to beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 in Denver on Wednesday night.
Anthony Cirelli had a goal and an assist and Conor Geekie also scored for Tampa Bay, which earned its third win in a row. Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel contributed two assists each, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 33 shots.
Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak left the game in the second period with an undisclosed injury.
Colorado has dropped two straight after winning five in a row to continue a streaky beginning to the season. Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, Ivan Ivan also had a goal, Nathan MacKinnon added two assists and Kaapo Kahkonen made 16 saves in his first start for the Avalanche.
Makar and MacKinnon have each recorded at least one point in the first 11 games of the year.
Tampa Bay scored three times on its first five shots. Kucherov got his ninth goal of the season 1:01 into the game with a one-timer from the slot, and then he sent a pass from behind the net to Guentzel, who roofed a shot at 3:36.
Geekie made it 3-0 at 5:32 when he finished off a three-on-one rush, but the Avalanche got one back on a power play late in the first on Ivan's redirection of Makar's shot from the point at 14:56, his second goal of the season.
Colorado failed to score on a power play early in the second, and less than a minute later, Guentzel scored off a rebound at 6:28 for his second of the game and fourth of the season.
The Avalanche went on the power play twice more after the midway point of the second but couldn't capitalize, and Tampa Bay had three minutes on the power play after Matt Stienburg was assessed a five-minute major for a hit on Cernak.
Makar's fourth goal of the season at 10:57 of the third made it 4-2. Kahkonen came off for an extra skater with 2:49 left, and Cirelli scored into the empty net, his second goal of the season, with 1:20 to go.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Tampa Bay |
|
Colorado |
|
Nikita Kucherov 3 |
Points |
Cale Makar 2 |
|
Jake Guentzel 2 |
Goals |
Cale Makar 1 |
|
Nikita Kucherov 2 |
Assists |
Nathan MacKinnon 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Ivan Ivan 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Andrei Vasilevskiy .943 |
Save Percentage |
Kaapo Kahkonen .800 |
|
Andrei Vasilevskiy 33 |
Saves |
Kaapo Kahkonen 16 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Tampa Bay
|
21 |
5 |
0-3 |
3-4 |
17 |
28 |
| Colorado
|
35 |
2 |
1-4 |
3-3 |
26 |
19 |
Upcoming Games
-
Colorado will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .800 after a win and .167 after a loss.
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Lightning have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .750 after a loss.
For more information, contact us