By Jake Ricker
The Tampa Bay Lightning looked to pick up their third straight win as they returned home to Amalie Arena. Here is how they stacked up in last night's matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.
Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Paul
Eyssimont-Motte-Sheary
Chaffee-Glendening-ABB
Hedman-Raddysh
Fleury-Cernak
Lilleberg-Perbix
Vasilevskiy
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Lightning's 6-3 win over the Avalanche.
Kucherov
It is almost impossible to write about Nikita Kucherov because there are little words that can be used to describe him. Kucherov had a three-point night against the Avs despite having assists taken away from him on the Lightning's opening goal. Kucherov was again magical out on the ice, making passes no one, not even his teammates, could see coming.
Kucherov now leads the NHL with 93 points and has a 4-point lead over Nathan MacKinnion. He should absolutely be considered as the front-runner for MVP because, without him, it's hard to say where the Lightning would be. Even though the Avalanche knew all about Kucherov, they were still unable to slow him down, which is what makes him so special.
Offense
Kucherov got his own section because he is just that good, but there was a lot to like from the Lightning offense. Steven Stamkos had an excellent night, scoring a breakaway goal with a beautiful move. The entire first line had a great game, with Point getting a goal of his own. And even though that goal came off a weird bounce, Point did a great job putting himself in a great position to get that puck into the back of the net.
There were also moments in this game where the Lightning were buzzing but couldn't get anything in the back of the net. Take the power play, for example; despite going 0 for 2, they still had a lot of quality chances and created a ton of pressure on the Avalanche. The Lightning finished the night with 39 shots on goal and plenty of grade-A chances.
It should also be noted that Mitchell Chaffee played a good game. The Young rookie was not on the score sheet but showed some great hustle and made a great defensive play with his stick that likely could have saved a goal. Third Jerseys
While the initial reaction was not great for the Lightning third jerseys, they look much better on the ice. While this isn't about the game, it had to be mentioned that the Lightning once again did an excellent job with this release. Not only did the Jerseys look great, but all of the new graphics and other merchandise also had a really nice look.
Andrei Vasilevskiy might have stolen the show, though, not only with his play but with his equipment. Which, if you didn't catch it, are actually replicas of the ones Nikolai Khabibulin wore when he was with the Lightning. It's a fun little nod from a current lightning legend to an old one.
Final Thoughts
The Lightning played well in what felt like a little bit of a playoff game. The first line really came through, and the offense was able to keep pressure on the Avalanche all night. While this game was close for the majority of the game, the Lightning still were able to dictate play mostly. Victor Hedman ended the night with a +5 rating, which is the highest of his career and makes him just the 14th player to do it in franchise history.
The Lightning have another big game against the Florida Panthers and will need to continue their great play, but over the last few weeks, the Lightning have shown no signs of slowing down. The game against the Panthers will be on Saturday, February 17th, at 5 PM.
Three Stars
Media's three-stars
1. Kucherov (2G,1A)
2. Stamkos (1G,1A)
3. Point (1G,1A)
Our three-stars
1. Kucherov (2G,1A)
2. Stamkos (1G,1A)
3. Point (1G,1A)
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