Lightning @ Avalanche

Who will WIN this matchup?

Tampa Bay Lightning (5-1-1)

@ Colorado Avalanche (6-1-2)

Starting Goalies:

Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB): Confirmed

Semyon Varlamov (COL):  Confirmed

Current odds:

Tampa Bay Lightning: (-125)

Colorado Avalanche: (+105)

• The Tampa Bay Lightning have found their offense since the first two games of the season and will likely need to display the same production when they visit the red-hot Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night. The Lightning are averaging five goals per game since managing two combined in the first two and face an Avalanche squad which has built a six-game point streak (4-0-2) with a big boost from its top line. Tampa Bay registered 33 shots on net in the second period Sunday at Chicago, a record since the NHL made shots per period an official statistic in 1997-98, en route to a 6-3 victory to extend its point streak five (4-0-1).

• Linemates Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are the second duo in Colorado/Quebec franchise history to start a single season with nine-game point streaks and the third member of the trio, captain Gabriel Landeskog, boasts seven goals in the last four games. “When you’re playing with two good players like Mikko and Nate, offensively we’re going to create and it’s going to take care of itself,” Landeskog told reporters. “We’re just trying to move and skate and talk and try to be threats out there.”

• Third-line center Anthony Cirelli posted a career-high nine shots Sunday, after managing one in the previous four games, and scored his second goal of the season after registering five in 18 contests during 2017-18. “(Cirelli is) just a competitor,” Johnson told the media. “When you have guys like that in your lineup, it definitely makes everyone build around it. He is a big part of our team.” Yanni Gourde boasts a six-game point streak while J.T. Miller scored once and set up three others in the first two contests of the trip, and the duo is tied with fellow forward Brayden Point (goal, two assists on Sunday) for the team lead at eight points.

• MacKinnon has 15 points and Landeskog 12, but the 21-year-old Rantanen leads the team with 16 points to go along to a plus-11 rating after scoring twice in Monday’s 4-1 win at Philadelphia. “(Rantanen) put up almost 90 points last year and he’s off to a good start this year and it seems like he’d still not getting the recognition he deserves,” Landeskog told reporters. “… If he can fly under the radar, that’s fine with us. He’s going to be a stud in this league for a long time.” Semyon Varlamov (4-0-2, .953 save percentage) has been outstanding in net and backup Philipp Grubauer (2-1-0, .925) is 4-0-1 in his career against the Lightning.

• Rantanen and MacKinnon join Anton Stastny and Avalanche Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic, who both opened the 1988-89 season on nine-game point streaks.

• Tampa Bay RW Nikita Kucherov and LW Ondrej Palat (all assists) each take five-game point streaks into Wednesday’s contest.

• The Lightning have won their past three games at Colorado, including a 6-5 triumph in December, and are 4-1-0 in the last five meetings overall.