Game 51: Colorado Avalanche (32-13-5) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (30-16-5)
By Andrew Dill
Jan 24, 2014; Sunrise, FL, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Jamie McGinn (back) celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers with center Matt Duchene (9) defenseman Ryan Wilson (44) and defenseman Tyson Barrie (4) in the second period at BB
The Colorado Avalanche (32-13-5, 69 points) are facing a back-to-back as they just recently beat the Florida Panthers Friday night by the final score of 3-2. Ryan O’Reilly continues to play outstanding hockey as the forward notched his career-high of goals in a season with 19 last night. Even though rookie Nathan MacKinnon didn’t collect any points last night, he leads all rookies with 33 points, 17 goals and 16 assists.
What: Game 51: Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
When: Saturday, January 25th
Where: Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Time: 7:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM MT
TV: Altitude Sports
This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season as the Tampa Bay Lightning look to end Colorado’s four-game road winning streak. Lightning winger Martin St. Louis has been on fire of late, scoring eight goals and adding five assists during his nine-game point steak.
Colorado Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay returned to action Friday night after missing 36 games due to a knee/hip injury he suffered on Nov. 2nd against the Montreal Canadiens. Tanguay will likely sit out tonight as head coach Patrick Roy doesn’t want to rush the veteran.
Tampa Bay has a solid rookie of their own in Tyler Johnson who has 31 points on the season, 13 goals and 18 assists and is second in the league to none other than Nathan MacKinnon.
Semyon Varlamov made 34-of-36 saves last night against the Florida Panthers and will likely get the night off with backup goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere making the start.
Projected Starting Goaltenders:
Colorado Avalanche: Jean-Sebastien Giguere: 7-4-0, 2.60 GAA.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Ben Bishop: 25-6-4, 1.96 GAA.
Team Leaders:
Points:
Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, 43.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Martin St. Louis, 51.
Goals:
Colorado Avalanche: Ryan O’Reilly, 19.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Martin St. Louis, 25.
Assists:
Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, 26.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Martin St. Louis, 26.
Penalty Minutes:
Colorado Avalanche: Cody McLeod, 87.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Radko Gudas, 96.
Shots on Net:
Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, 151.
Tampa Bay Lighting: Martin St. Louis, 135.