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 Stamkos had two goals, goaltender Ben Bishop stopped 21 shots for
his second shutout of the season, and the Lightning beat the
Colorado Avalanche 4-0 on Tuesday.
It was Tampa Bay's first win in Denver since March 1, 2004.
Left winger Ondrej Palat had a goal and two assists and center Tyler
Johnson also scored. Center Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman
Victor Hedman had two assists each for Tampa Bay. The Lightning
finished their four-game Western Conference road strip with three
straight victories.
"It's funny how this trip goes," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.
"You lose the first one, you're down 2-0 after two in one game and
you come out with three straight wins."
Stamkos had a hand in that turnaround. The center had goals against
Calgary and Edmonton before scoring twice against Colorado. It was
his fifth multi-goal game of the season and 54th of his career.
He has nine goals in his last 11 games and has reached the 20-goal
mark in all eight of his NHL seasons. He said getting put on the
line with Namestnikov and Palat has been a spark.
"We got thrown together there at the end of the Edmonton game and
got rewarded," he said. "We played solid in Vancouver, we didn't get
the points or the goals, but if you stick with it's going to come.
Today was a good example of the skill set we have on that line. It's
just going to get better and better with the more that we play with
each other."
The Avalanche (21-20-3) held a pregame ceremony to commemorate right
winger Jarome Iginla's 600th goal, which he scored Jan. 4 against
Los Angeles. They then proceeded to play flat with a chance to
improve their position in the standings after losses by Nashville
and Minnesota.
"We were flat, unfortunately," Iginla said. "Right from the start we
weren't as sharp as we had been. We just couldn't get any spark
tonight to get back into it."
Goaltender Semyon Varlamov had 34 saves but struggled for the second
straight game. He allowed four goals on 20 shots in a loss at
Chicago on Sunday.
He gave up his eighth goal in the last two games when Johnson
stuffed in a rebound at 11:55 of the third period.
"The reason why we won some games is because we played well
defensively," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "We got away from
that. They have a very well balanced lineup and they were better
than us."
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Tampa Bay (22-17-4) dominated the first period but led only 1-0 on
Palat's third goal of the season at 10:29. He scored six seconds
after Colorado killed off a penalty when he picked up Hedman's
rebound and flicked it into the net.
The Lightning extended the lead early in the second period. Stamkos
got his first goal when he finished off a nice passing sequence from
Palat and Namestnikov 1:39 into the frame. Less than four minutes
later, Namestnikov fed Stamkos from behind the net into the slot and
the center beat Varlamov with a one-timer for his 20th of the season
at 5:16.
Colorado generated few chances through the first two periods.
"We had the puck for a lot of the night. That helps," Stamkos said.
"That's a characteristic of our team, that when we're going well we
have the puck, we get it in deep and we let our skill and speed take
over. We had a lot of very good play in the neutral zone to limit
their speed."
NOTES: Avalanche D Erik Johnson skated Tuesday morning but is still
not ready to take part in a full practice. Johnson suffered a
lower-body injury against Los Angeles on Jan. 4 and has not played
since. "We'll know more the more he's going to be on the ice,"
Colorado coach Patrick Roy said. ... Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop
allowed two or fewer goals in 24 of his first 33 starts. Bishop
ranked tied for sixth in the NHL for goals-against average (2.06)
entering Tuesday. ... Avalanche D Tyson Barrie was named the NHL's
third star for the week ending Sunday. He had three goals -- two
game-winners -- and three assists. ... Entering Tuesday the
Lightning were 0-5-0 in the last game of a multigame road trip.
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