Lightning struck twice at the Pepsi Center on Monday night. To begin with, Avalanche first-line winger Mikko Rantanen was triggered into the end boards in the next stage and didn’t go back. Colorado’s highest-paid participant be out “weeks” using a shoulder injury.
And then the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning got a sleek breakaway goal from standout Nikita Kucherov 3:03 into overtime to extend its winning streak to 11 matches, winning 4-3 in a match Colorado skated off using a well-earned point.
“Their very best player had a breakaway and I wasn’t able to prevent it,” Avs goalie Pavel Francouz explained. “We came back from. This ’s the best portion of this game. Regrettably, we lost in OT. ”
The Avs climbed back from a 3-1 deficit behind goals from Nathan MacKinnon along with Valeri Nichushkin. Colorado, which was in position to tie St. Louis and Dallas with a Central Division/Western Conference-high 74 points with a victory, dropped to 3-7 in overtime. The Avs (33-18-7, 73 points) snapped a two-game points streak and remain third in the division/conference.
“I thought we played hard start to finish,” Avs coach Jared Bednar stated. “I adored our dig-in, our sticktoitiveness to stay with it grind, work, push and take it . ”
Colorado led before enabling two goals within 16 minutes and a second 10 minutes later to trail 3-1 late in the second. MacKinnon scored his 33rd goal of the season with 1:34 remaining to find the Avs back .
The Avs then tied it 12:43 into the third phase, when Cale Makar‘so long tail shot caromed in off the chest of Nichushkin.
Rantanen left having a shoulder injury early in the second stage when he was triggered into the end boards by Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak. Bending over, Rantanen walked into the dressing room tube and skated into the chair. He didn’t return and Bednar stated he will be out “weeks. ”
Cernak was penalized for tripping adding insult to injury, the Avs didn’t convert on the power play. Rantanen, who assisted on Colorado’s goal for his 41st stage in 42 matches, missed 16 games this season with an injury.
Tampa Bay, which had Colorado College goalie Curtis McElhinney, gathered things in its straight matches, going 12-0-1. The Lightning, which also had a 10-game winning streak from Dec. 23 to Jan. 11, is currently 23-2-1 in its last 26 games.
Francouz, stepping in for the injured Philipp Grubauer, also had 23 saves for Colorado. Grubauer had begun seven of the last eight games but is out indefinitely with a lower-body accident after colliding with a teammate Saturday from the Los Angeles Kings.
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Francouz got the win in Colorado’s 6-2 triumph at Tampa Bay on Oct. 19.
The Avs felt on their first power play to open the scoring. From behind the internet, Rantanen made a short pass to Andre Burakovsky in the doorstep and he buried a snap shot inside the far post. Both teams ended with 10 shots in the opening 20 minutes.
However, the Lightning took the lead and tied it 4:54 into the next. The goals came in winger Alex Killorn along with defenseman Brendan Gaunce. Killorn had an open net to shoot on a back-door feed in Ondrej Palat and Gaunce’s slap shot from the line.
“The opportunities they’d — I think we’re lending it ” Burakovsky explained. “In OT, it’s 50-50. It could go either way. And wasn’t our way. ”
Denver Post three stars:
1. Nikita Kucherov. Reigning Hart Trophy winner as league MVP was the game-winning overtime objective.
2. Nathan MacKinnon. Avs superstar had two things, such as a goal at a team-high 27:13
3. Victor Hedman. Lightning defenseman and team captain was plus-2 and recovered a game-high 29:51.
Up: New York Islanders, Wednesday at the Pepsi Center.
Footnotes. The Avs played with their fourth consecutive match without second-line center Nazem Kadri, that was likely to miss 4-6 weeks beginning Feb. 10 with a leg injury. Colorado also played with no versatile winger Matt Calvert, that endured a lower-body accident Saturday and is expected to miss a few weeks. … The Avs complete their five-game homestand Wednesday from the New York Islanders.
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