The Avalanche had a well-deserved day off Tuesday, following its 4-1 triumph at Philadelphia on Monday to complete a four-game road trip unbeaten in regulation (3-0-1)
Colorado (6-1-2) enters Tuesday’s games tied with the (7-1-0) with an NHL-best 14 points and begins a two-game homestand Wednesday against the (7:30 p.m.; NBC Sports). Former Avs forward and the visit the on Friday.
What to look for Wednesday:
The opponent. Tampa Bay is 5-1-1, including 1-0-1 on its current five-game road trip. The Lightning won 6-3 at Chicago on Sunday after losing 5-4 in overtime the previous night in Minnesota. The Avs were swept in the two-game season series against Tampa Bay last year, losing 5-2 at Amalie Arena and 6-5 at the Pepsi Center.
League leaders. Entering Tuesday’s games, Avs right winger is tied with Toronto’s Auston Matthews with a league-high 16 points, and Colorado center is third with 15. MacKinnon and left winger are tied for second with eight goals, trailing Matthews’ 10.
MacKinnon and Rantanen (league-high 12 assists) are on nine-game point streaks, having produced a point in every game. And the Avs’ top line has the league’s top three plus-minus ratings in Landeskog (plus-11), Rantanen (plus-11) and MacKinnon (plus-9).
is 4-0-2 and his .953 save percentage ranks second among goaltenders who have played at least three games. His 1.64 goals-against average is third in the league.
Killing it. The Avs have taken 111 penalty minutes, third-highest behind Winnipeg (154) and Detroit (115). But serving time in the sin bin has not been costly for Colorado, thanks a 90.5 percent penalty kill — third best in the NHL.
The Avs also have had a good power play, with a 27.3 percent success rate (ninth).
Footnotes. Forward Marko Dano, who was claimed off waivers from Winnipeg last week, logged a team-low 9:23 in his Avalanche debut on Monday. Dano played on the fourth line with center and . Although Jost has been demoted to the fourth line, he still plays on the No. 1 power play. … The Lightning has two full days in Denver before Wednesday’s contest. Tampa Bay’s road trip continues through Las Vegas and Arizona on consecutive nights Friday and Saturday.
