The Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning played for the first time since the Avs won the Stanley Cup in Tampa Bay, and for a while, it looked like we would get the close game this ESPN prime-time matchup implied. Instead, the Avs let it all slip away in a frustrating second period which featured a moment that encapsulates the team’s frustrations this season.
First Period
The Avs came out strong, but Tampa took control by shutting Colorado down through the neutral zone. Two minutes in, Andrew Cogliano took a wicked knee-to-knee by former Av Ian Cole that looked really bad as he had to be helped off the ice, but he didn’t even miss a shift.