INSTANT REACTION: Avs drop second regulation loss in a row for the first time this season in 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay Lightning

For the first time this season, the Colorado Avalanche have dropped their second regulation loss in a row, finishing out their three-game road trip with a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Avs look more revitalized than they did during their loss against the Florida Panthers, but they still get burned on a late-period power play for the Lightning. A pass off the faceoff draws Sam Malinski to Nikita Kucherov, leaving Jake Guentzel all alone deep in the zone to carry the puck above the goal line and score, 12 seconds left on the clock to make it 1-0.

The second period finally saw an Avs team with a little bit of life. A smart centering pass to the crease from Zakhar Bardakov sets up Parker Kelly perfectly to tie things up early in the period. Later in the frame, just as the penalty kill (courtesy of a Bardakov slashing call) ends, Cale Makar drives up the ice and finds Brock Nelson with him, finding him for a pass that squeaks its way past Andrei Vasilevskiy to get Colorado their first lead of the night.

Doesn’t last long, though. With as bad a defensive breakdown as you could have possibly seen from the Avs’ top guys, Zemgus Girgensons capitalizes on some loose coverage from Cale Makar at the top of Scott Wedgewood‘s crease to tie things up heading into the second intermission.

Brandon Hagel finds the lead for the Lightning early in the third. Hagel capitalizes on a sharp shot that I’m sure Wedgewood will want back, looking back at it. Anthony Cirelli gets the empty-netter to make it 4-2, and that’s where this will end

Top guys were fairly absent tonight

Don’t get me wrong, there were a few depth guys in the Avs’ lineup tonight that did not look great, either (Solovyov comes to mind), but aside from a smart Cale Makar assist in the second period, all of the top guys looked lost or ineffective tonight. Not great offensive IQ from Martin Necas, MacKinnon looked like he needed a map through large portions of this game, and Makar just seemed flat-out uncompetitive in Tampa Bay’s second goal.

All even thanks to 2️⃣8️⃣ https://t.co/hdRS4324NG pic.twitter.com/mQqFKIrqcn

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 7, 2026

In a game where you’re maybe scared of floundering due to losing two of your best defensive pieces in Devon Toews and Gabe Landeskog, you’re expecting your top guys to carry the load, so depth doesn’t need to be heavily relied on. As mentioned, outside of a Makar assist, the top guys were wholly ineffective when the team needed them the most.

The Avs REALLY miss Devon Toews

One goal allowed on the penalty kill.

Defensive breakdowns galore.

When the top guys aren’t doing what they need to, this is a game you really miss a guy like Devon Toews to pick up some of the exposed defensive slack.

Toews has been the defensive stronghold for this Avs team. His offense has been lacking, and on a gauntlet of a road trip like this one, where you play two of the three best teams in the east, and the third team is a bully of a team meant to grind you into sand, you could use a shutdown guy like Toews to take some of the load off your defensemen.

He’s the best shutdown guy – maybe the only shutdown guy – this team has. Goodness knows Brent Burns won’t do it, and neither will either of the Sams. Knowing you’ll be without him for the next week, at least, is a harsh blow to this Avs team.

Avs postgame pod