Avalanche at Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to snap out of their brief scoring slump when they host the similarly struggling Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. The Lightning, who led the league in goals last season on the way to the Stanley Cup Final, have been shut out in back-to-back games while allowing a total of only three tallies – one into an empty net.
“There’s obviously opportunities to score,” Tampa Bay center Tyler Johnson told the Tampa Bay Times. “Can’t be too upset about that, but at the same time, we’ve got to bear down and make sure we get one.” The Avalanche have managed to score just five times in their last four games (0-3-1) after a 4-1 loss at Florida on Tuesday. Nathan MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog lead Colorado with seven points apiece, but more is needed from others. “We have a lot of belief in here,” Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson told the Denver Post. “We know it’s a long year and you can put a run together. We’re fully confident we’re going to make a run and be there in the end.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (2-5-1): Colorado has not gotten much out of newcomers Carl Soderberg (no goals, four assists, minus-5 rating) and Mikhail Grigorenko (one assist) up front along with defenseman Nikita Zadorov (minus-4). Former third-overall pick Matt Duchene has to get going as well after recording just one goal and one assist in his first eight contests. The Avalanche gave up three power-play goals on Tuesday and are just 2-for-23 with the man advantage in their last five games after going scoreless on five chances against Florida.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (5-3-2): Johnson scored 29 goals in his second full NHL season in 2014-15 but has yet to tally in the first 10 games of this campaign. Coach Jon Cooper switched up the lines a bit in the third period of a 2-0 loss at St. Louis on Tuesday, moving captain Steven Stamkos (five goals) between Johnson’s normal linemates Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov. Defenseman Victor Hedman leads the team with nine points – all assists – while Tampa Bay's power play has sputtered over the last seven games (2-for-18).
OVERTIME
1. Colorado G Semyon Varlamov, who sat out Tuesday, has struggled early on this season but is 7-2-2 with a .923 career save percentage against the Lightning.
2. Tampa Bay's Brian Boyle has missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury while fellow C Cedric Paquette (foot) was held out Tuesday.
3. The Avalanche have earned points in three straight games against the Lightning, going 2-0-1 while scoring a total of 13 goals.