The Colorado Avalanche faced an uphill battle Wednesday night at Ball Arena, succumbing to a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning after conceding three goals in the first six minutes. Despite the Avalanche’s best efforts over the remaining 54 minutes, their early defensive lapses set the stage for the defeat.
Tampa Bay’s stars took full advantage of Colorado’s patchwork lineup, with Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Jake Guentzel combining for three goals and seven points. New Avalanche goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen struggled initially, allowing three goals on five shots before regaining his form and finishing with 16 saves.
“Teams with that level of skill make tough plays, and it’s not easy to make those saves,” Kahkonen said. “It’s about trying to stop the next puck and find a rhythm.”
Colorado’s roster has been severely impacted by injuries. Forwards Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder), Valeri Nichushkin (suspension), Gabe Landeskog (knee), and Jonathan Drouin (upper body) have been sidelined, and Ross Colton (broken foot) and Miles Wood (upper body) were recently added to the injury list.
“Our (missing) payroll is outrageous,” said star forward Nathan MacKinnon. “But I like how we’re playing overall. Once we’re healthier, I think we’ll see better results.”
Tampa Bay’s coach Jon Cooper exploited Colorado’s makeshift lines, repeatedly cycling in his top line to capitalize on mismatches. Just 61 seconds into the game, Point circled behind Colorado’s net and fed Kucherov in the slot for a one-timer to open the scoring. Moments later, Kucherov went coast-to-coast and set up Guentzel for an easy goal, giving the Lightning a 2-0 lead just 3:36 in. Another defensive lapse led to a 3-on-1 and a third Tampa Bay goal, courtesy of Conor Geekie at 5:32.
The Avalanche began to find their footing, and Ivan Ivan put Colorado on the board late in the first period, tipping a Cale Makar shot to cut the deficit to 3-1. Despite their improved play, the Avs struggled to beat Tampa’s star goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made crucial saves throughout the game.
Tampa Bay stretched their lead to 4-1 in the second period after a quick transition allowed Point to slip past the Avs’ defense and set up Guentzel for his second goal. Colorado’s frustration boiled over when Matt Stienburg was ejected in the second period for a charging penalty on Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak, adding to the Avs’ challenges.
Colorado managed another goal in the third period from Makar, but Vasilevskiy denied any further comeback attempt.
Reflecting on the game, MacKinnon said, “We had a big meeting, and (coach Bednar) emphasized a good process. I think we did that, but the scoring didn’t come. It would be nice to have some shooting luck eventually.”
Footnotes: Coach Bednar mentioned that Lehkonen could debut Tuesday against Seattle, while Drouin is taking controlled contact in practice but remains day-to-day.
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