Recap: Lightning strike down Avalanche in 8-2 meltdown

21 hours ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images


At least it was just one game, right? It’s always nice to revisit the place where dreams came true. This is why the Colorado Avalanche will always enjoy playing at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay where they won their Stanley Cup in 2022. But this game unfolded more like a nightmare, which started first with late news that Jonathan Drouin would miss the game with an upper body injury. After a quick Lightning start the Avalanche had no fight in their game and dropped the final match of the road trip in an 8-2 embarrassment.
The Game
Justus Annunen got the start and it was clear the team in front of him didn’t have their A game as Nick Perbix opened the scoring with a goal at 5:51 taking advantage of some lax defense. Just two minutes later Jake Guentzel scored on the power play to put Tampa up 2-0 quickly.
There was a slight glimmer of life when just a minute later Ivan Ivan provided instant dividends playing on a line with Val Nischushkin and banged home a loose puck in the crease. That positive momentum was short lived when the Avalanche gave up a third Tampa goal to Nikita Kucherov at 10:03 which Annunen should have saved and subsequently got him the hook.
It didn’t go well for Alexandar Georgiev either but the team in front of him had pretty much packed it in at that point. Ivan drew a penalty but Luke Glendening was the one who scored by converting a shorthanded goal at 13:15. The Lightning were kept off the scoreboard from then on until 14 seconds left in the period when Anthony Cirelli turned and fired a shot in the slot to make it 5-1 at the end of 20 minutes of play.
The intermission didn’t offer much inspiration as the Avalanche only mustered four shots on goal in the second period despite receiving two power plays. Tampa did manage to add one more goal to their lead, however, as Brayden Point scored on their only power play of the period at 9:38. The Lightning passed the puck around like hot potato before Point took the shot, which was seemingly the last straw for Georgiev has he slammed his stick on the crossbar and then threw it behind the net.


pic.twitter.com/4VOKylRgWX— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) November 26, 2024




The second intermission brought Annunen back in net after Georgiev clearly saw enough. Once again Ivan provided a quick spark and put the Avalanche back on the board just a minute into the third period. His shot hit the crossbar and bounced off of Point and into the back of the Lightning net.
That little bit of a fortune didn’t last long as Guentzel scored his second of the game two minutes later cherry picking on a breakaway. Then Michael Essimont converted Tampa’s eighth and final goal at 4:44 once the Colorado backcheckers completely vacated the zone when Nichushkin threw a pass off of a Tampa player. After 60 minutes of play the game was finally over, a 8-2 Lightning victory.

Takeaways
After three straight victories on the road including a big win at the home of the defending Stanley Cup champions, it is understandable the Avalanche didn’t have the energy or focus to be competitive in the last game of a long road trip. However, the problems that showed up in this meltdown are not unfamiliar. The hallmarks of lax defense, soft play, lack of focus and difficulty in creating 5v5 offense from early in the season keep popping up when there’s some adversity to face.
It is still inexplicable why Coach Bednar has such a phobia with playing seven defensemen this season especially when he’s done it a lot in the past. After Oliver Kylington finally had a good game in Florida and generated a little momentum he then sat in favor of TJ Tynan to play just nine minutes even in a blowout.
It was nice to see Ivan elevated to the second line even when this game began. After languishing for several contests on the fourth line it was a nice reminder to everyone that Ivan can be an effective player if given a little bit of opportunity. Ivan finished with a team-high five shots on goal as well as his two tallies in just over 15 minutes of time on ice. Hopefully he doesn’t get marginalized again moving forward.
The decision to keep Georgiev in this game when it was all but over is a curious one since his play didn’t lead to the loss. His clear displeasure after the Point power play goal when the penalty killers couldn’t be bothered to make a play on anyone was a message to the coaching staff and they finally listened sparing him from the third period. With a tough back-to-back upcoming this weekend the Avalanche are going to need the best from both their goaltenders and this game doesn’t set up either for that.
Upcoming
Back at home to begin a busy weekend of three games in four nights. First up, the Vegas Golden Knights at 8 p.m. (ish) on Wednesday, November 27th. This is a TNT non-exclusive broadcast on Altitude, so expect blackouts....

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