TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Tortorella called his team’s 3-0 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday night “probably the most embarrassed and disappointed I’ve been since I’ve been here.” That dates to 2001.
When fans booed the Lightning off the ice after the second period, Tortorella used profanity when saying what he would have thrown if he were a fan.
While stuff may be hitting the fan in Tampa, the Avs skipped quietly and happily out of the St. Pete Times Forum with the shutout, capping their five-game road trip with what would have seemed, just a week ago, to be their improbable third win in a row.
Getting his first shutout in an Avalanche uniform, Jose Theodore stopped 32 shots — 22 saves coming in the third period — to send his team home just one point out of first place in the Northwest Division.
“You want the win, but it’s always, when you look back, it’s always a bonus,” Theodore said of getting his first shutout since blanking the Carolina Hurricanes for Montreal on Feb. 28, 2004. “A shutout always really takes a team effort.”
The Avs received power-play goals from Jeff Finger and Paul Stastny before Milan Hejduk’s empty-netter. Colorado’s power play ranked last in the NHL on the road coming in. After a scoreless first period, the Avs dominated the second by outshooting Tampa Bay 12-3 and spending virtually the entire period camped in the Lightning zone.
Despite the Lightning coming to life in the third period with a whopping 22-4 edge in shots and two power plays, the Avs kept play mostly to the perimeter and cleared what few rebounds Theodore allowed.
“I thought he was rock solid,” Avs coach Joel Quenne-ville said of Theodore. “I thought he challenged well, he was up on top of the crease and controlled rebounds and he handled the puck well. Tonight was as good as we’ve seen him.”
Stastny put home the rebound of a loose puck that was fired from the point by Brett Clark, giving the Avs a 2-0 lead at 16:27. When the horn expired, the boos came loudly.
“I have a really tough time explaining our first two periods,” said Tortorella, who used several more bad words to describe his thoughts about the game. “I can’t explain it.”
Said Stastny, who scored for the second time in three games: “We took advantage of our power plays. I thought the difference lately is we’re just getting the puck on net better. We’re getting some uglier goals. We kind of sat back too much in the third, but you knew they were going to be better.”
Theodore, 11-10-1 this season, stopped eight shots from Brad Richards alone and made a couple of big stops on Martin St. Louis in the third.
“They just came out and played desperation hockey, but we didn’t panic,” Theodore said. “It’s been awhile since I got a shutout, so it feels good.”
Avs’ recap
Three stars
1. Jose Theodore.
Made 32 saves for his first shutout with the Avalanche and first since 2004.
2. Paul Stastny.
Scored a goal for the Avs and assisted on another.
3. Brett Clark.
Avs defenseman had an assist and was good with the puck out of his zone.
What you might have missed
Andrew Brunette had multiple points for the second game in a row and had at least one in the past three games of the road trip for Colorado.
Up next
Chicago, Friday at 7 p.m. at the Pepsi Center
Chicago scouts defenseman Liles and Clark
TAMPA, Fla. — With the NHL trade deadline Feb. 26, teams are starting to get their wish lists in order. One of them, the Chicago Blackhawks, was represented at Tuesday’s Avalanche game at the St. Pete Times Forum and might be eyeing an Avalanche defenseman or two.
Blackhawks assistant general manager Rick Dudley was on hand and acknowledged he is evaluating some Avs players in case trade talks arise. The Blackhawks could use some help on the blue line and might be eyeing John-Michael Liles, who can be an unrestricted free agent this summer, or Brett Clark.
Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon was quoted recently in the Chicago Tribune saying his team was actively seeking an offensive defenseman.
“I hear from my buddies all the time about the rumors. I love Colorado. But beyond playing the next game, I can’t think about that stuff. It’s a business, and my job is to just play,” Liles said.
The Avs’ chances of acquiring a lot for Liles diminishes if the team he’s traded to is not assured of signing him to a new contract beyond this season. Avs GM Francois Giguere has made it clear he is very hesitant to trade any of his team’s younger assets.
Bowman staying put
Legendary former coach Scotty Bowman, who lives in the Tampa area, was at the game.
Bowman was in the news recently when it was revealed he considered a high management position with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bowman said he did consider a deal to return full time to the NHL with the Leafs but couldn’t agree on how his job would be structured.
Bowman, 74, said he no longer would consider any future possibilities with the Maple Leafs.
Footnotes
Kyle Cumiskey and Johnny Boychuk were healthy scratches for the Avs. . . . At the morning skate, Lightning coach John Tortorella was asked if he would consider utilizing a trapping defensive system to try to win more ugly games: “The day I start using a trap is the day you can kick me out of this league.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
