Nikita Kucherov scores first goal to ignite early flurry, Tampa Bay beats Colorado 5-2

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Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point, right, drives witht he puck past Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, front left, and center Nathan MacKinnon in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Tampa Bay Lightning center Michael Eyssimont, center, directs a shot at Colorado Avalanche goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, left, after driving past defenseman Cale Makar in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (34) stops a shot in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, right, makes a glove save of a shot as Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli covers in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Mitchell Chaffee, front left, fights for control of the puck with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard, right, and center Nathan MacKinnon in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, left, cheks Tampa Bay Lightning center Michael Eyssimont in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy reaches behind his back to block a shot in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Showered with snow, Colorado Avalanche goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stops a shot off the stick of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, right, makes a pad save of a shot from Colorado Avalanche center Ivan Ivan in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O’Connor, front, fires the puck at Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel, front, scores a goal past Colorado Avalanche goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, back left, after driving past defenseman Devon Toews in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By DENNIS GEORGATOS

DENVER (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the first of three Tampa Bay goals in the opening 5 1/2 minutes and the Lightning beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Wednesday night for their third straight win.

Jake Guentzel and Conor Geekie also scored in the early flurry against goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, who was making his season debut for Colorado after being claimed off waivers from Winnipeg.

Tampa Bay’s Anthony Cirelli added an empty net goal with 1:20 left in regulation.

Ivan Ivan tipped in a shot from Cale Makar for a power-play goal late in the first period. Makar added a goal in the third period.

Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 33 saves, picking up his 299th career victory.

Makar and Nathan MacKinnon were both credited with an assist on Ivan’s goal, extending their season opening point streak to 11 games.

Takeaways

Lightning: Tampa Bay matched a season high with its second three-game winning streak, continuing a pattern of strong play in the first three weeks of the season.

Avalanche: Colorado matched a season low in scoring after losing two more forwards to injury in Ross Colton (broken foot) and Miles Wood (upper-body injury). The banged-up Avalanche were already without Jonathan Drouin (upper body), captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder).

Not PARSE.LY: Colorado Avalanche

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Key moment

Kucherov started the Lightning’s three-goal flurry when he put in a slapshot from the high slot just over a minute into the game, giving Tampa Bay a lead it never relinquished. Brayden Point set him up with a centering pass that Kucherov fired into the net above Kahkonen’s left shoulder.

Key stat

Tampa Bay got three goals in first five shots on Colorado’s net.

Up next

Tampa Bay plays the second in its four-game road trip Friday night at Minnesota. Colorado plays Saturday night at Nashville.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl