3 things we learned from Lightning’s latest triumph against Avalanche

DENVER — Winning both regular season meets against the Avalanche this season won’t erase last season’s heartbreak, but beating the defending Stanley Cup champion twice in six days definitely felt better for the Lightning than just that to earn bragging rights.

Their 4-3 shootout win over Colorado on Tuesday night at the Ball Arena was very different from Thursday’s 5-0 win in Tampa. The Lightning never led to the end as Steven Stamkos’ shootout goal held as Andrei Vasilevskiy capped a 43-three-stop save in the shootout.

They conceded the first goal of the game after 50 seconds and went 2-1 into the third period, but claimed their fifth triumph of the season when they fell behind after two periods and improved to 7-2 in extra time.

“We had a bit of a tough chat with the guys after the second,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We felt the game was obviously up for grabs. It was doable, but the chance to score in the first two thirds wasted, that just doesn’t work against a team like them.”

It’s tough to win on the street, and with its high altitude, Denver might be one of the toughest places to enter and steal two points. But after a hard-fought cup final that spanned four games decided by one goal and two decided in extra time, it was fitting that this game was just as close. It ended up having a post-season feel to it.

“We know the history that we have between these guys and we want to beat them every time we play them,” Lightning center Nick Paul said. “We don’t want to give them an inch. The crowd, you could hear it. It got pretty noisy in there for the third hour.”

Here are three things we learned from the Lightning’s recent victory over the Avalanche.

That’s not how you start, that’s how you end…

Captain Steven Stamkos thought the Lightning, which flew into Denver Monday afternoon, started slowly because of the altitude. According to the Natural Stat trick, they actually had more chances than Colorado at 25-23 in the first two halves, but missed some tremendous chances early on and allowed the Avalanche to build traffic in front of Vasilevskiy.

“He gave us a chance to come back,” Stamkos said of Vasilevskiy. “We were here not long ago, but you forget that it’s difficult to get wind here in the first few periods. I thought we were going to suck a bit of wind there and we got our legs in the third because Vasy gave us that chance. We knew we were still in.”

A Valeri Nichushkin screen up front took away Vasilevskiy’s line of sight on Artturi Lehkonen’s opening goal. Nathan MacKinnon gave Colorado a 2-0 lead when he put an inside edge on Brayden Point to the back post at the 6:21 mark of the second period for a tip-in.

Anthony Cirelli leveled the game in the first layer of the third, and after Denis Malgin jumped onto the ice into the Lightning zone and intercepted a pass and scored, the Lightning scored a huge goal from Vladislav Namestnikov to end the game on 3-equalize all.

Vasilevskiy stopped 24 of the last 25 shots he saw after MacKinnon’s second-half goal, including two big stops on defensive errors in the last two minutes of regulation, including JT Compher’s open shot just in front of the net.

“The last time we played was at noon on Saturday (against Dallas),” Cooper said of the slow start.

“A lot has happened since then. I think if you get out of your rhythm it can hurt you. Sometimes when we get these hard breaks, that can happen to us. So it takes a little while to get going and luckily we can wait that long to get going.”

But it’s about how to start…

This four-game road trip against some of the best teams in the Western Conference is a litmus test for the Lightning, and opening the journey with wins in Dallas and Colorado felt good in the Lightning locker room.

Knowing they need to play better on the streets, the Lightning open the journey at a 0.500 mark from Amalie Arena. With four points on the trip now, they have the opportunity to make this their best road trip of the season.

“We knew this distance would be crucial because we were playing against some really good teams, especially from the West,” said Stamkos. “It’s great to get those points early on in a road trip, it gives you confidence. Here they always say that you want to get a little greedy here on these trips. You say you want to get as many points as games played. We already have. So let’s get some more now.”

Now they must beware of complacency. The Lightning are 3-5-1 in the second half of back-to-backs and head into the Coyotes’ 6,000-seat collegiate arena in Arizona on Wednesday, hoping to build their momentum ahead of a Saturday night game in Las Vegas two days maintain in between off.

“It’s a good start, but it can’t end here,” Cooper said. “Yeah it’s going to be a tough duel, we’re going to arrive late in Phoenix, but we need to find a way to grind and then see what happens there, and then Vegas is obviously one hell of a team. So the journey is far from over, but the way we are right now.”

Nick Paul anchored a solid performance on the third row in return for the lineup

The Lightning had been without Nick Paul for the past two games, and his return to centering the Lightning’s third line gave Tampa Bay a boost. The line of Ross Colton, Paul and Pat Maroon made a big impression with serious and responsible hockey at both ends of the ice.

According to the Natural Stat trick, the Paul line had 15 shot attempts, 10 more than allowed. Colton had one of the Lightning’s best looks early on, taking a pass from Paul on open ice and narrowly missing a tuck in the right post. Colton had another Class A look during this period, and Maroon had a breakaway in the third created by Paul.

“Just keep your feet moving because that’s how you wear them down – just little pucks from the goalie, rebounds and then you move your feet, create space and then make them work,” Paul said. “The more they are in their (defensive) zone, the more tired they are. When you’re on offense, you’ve got all the juice in the world.”

For a big man, Paul can push the puck forward and was able to create chances for his linemates. He is the catalyst of this line.

“He’s got a big, strong body and he can make a few plays in the middle of the ice,” Cooper said. “He just gives us depth in this position and it’s easy to play with him. Yes, we missed him when he wasn’t around. It was lucky that we won two games without him, but I’m glad he’s back.”

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