Lightning embarrass Avalanche in Stanley Cup Final rematch

On Thursday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning welcomed the Colorado Avalanche to Amalie Arena for the first time since they faced off in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, but things went a little differently this time around.

When Game 6 of the championship series was played in Florida last summer, the Avs emerged victorious, 2-1, to clinch the series and win the Cup. This time, the Bolts struck first and never looked back.

It was the veteran Corey Perry that broke the ice with his tenth goal of the season. His power play marker was the only one in a first period that saw the Lightning outshoot the Avalanche 15-9.

The Lightning dominated the Avalanche on Thursday.

In the second period, it was Colorado that launched 15 shots on goal, but goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was ready for every one of them. As he shut down the opposition, Tampa Bay scored three goals in the frame to bust the game wide open.

A fifth goal in period three sent the Lightning to a 5-0 win over the Avs, avenging last summer’s defeat. The win was Vasilevskiy’s first shutout of the season and the latest in a long stretch of dominant performances at home this season.

For Tampa, this win was an important one to get after losing 7-1 against the Florida Panthers and in overtime against the San Jose Sharks since returning from the NHL All-Star Game.

On the Colorado side, the offense is apparently still on a break, as Nathan MacKinnon and company have only managed one goal in two games this week.

Even looking at the season as a whole, the Avalanche offense, which scores about three goals per contest, ranks in the bottom half of the league in scoring. While that may be explained by injuries, it’s been a season-long struggle that may need to be addressed at the trade deadline.

Both teams will play one game this weekend before meeting for the second time in a week, this time in Denver on Tuesday.