For a night, they were terrific again.
For a night, they skated crisply, and they shot relentlessly, and they smothered the opposition. For a night, the Tampa Bay Lightning looked like a contender again.
Tampa Bay won a rare lopsided game (this year) as they stopped the Colorado Avalanche, 4-0, to complete a 3-1 road trip. For the moment, the Lightning is in seventh place. They are one point behind Montreal in the Atlantic Division and three behind Detroit.
“As this road trip has gone on, we’ve gotten better and better,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper.
Captain Steven Stamkos scored twice, his 19th and 20th goals of the year. It meant that Stamkos has now scored at least 20 goals in eight seasons. Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson also had goals.
Goaltender Ben Bishop had his second shutout of the season and the 14th of his career. He stopped 21 shots.
Tampa Bay is now five games over .500 at 22-17-4. The Lightning returns home to play the Penguins on Friday night.
