Annunen, Georgiev awful, first-period debacle and more: 3 reasons why Colorado Avalanche was blown out 8-2 by Tampa Bay Lightning 

The Colorado Avalanche were on the wrong side of an 8-2 blowout by the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Monday night. The Avalanche did not have a chance, going down 5-1 after 20 minutes. The disastrous first period was the Avalanche’s undoing on the night.

Brandon Hagel had five assists, as Jake Guentzel scored twice with Nikita Kucherov, Anthony Cirelli, Michael Eyssimont, Brayden Point, Nick Perbix and Luke Glendening adding the other tallies for Tampa. Ivan Ivan had two tallies to get the Colorado Avalanche on the board.

Here's a closer look at three reasons why Colorado was blown out by Tampa Bay on Monday night.

3 reasons why Colorado Avalanche were blown out by Tampa Bay Lightning

#3. Special teams were dreadful

The special teams were a significant disappointment for the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. The penalty kill went 0-for-2 as the Bolts scored on both of their power play opportunities. Then, the Avalanche went 0-for-3 on the power play, giving up a shorthanded goal in the first period.

The dreadful performance from the Avs’ special teams underscored just how poorly the team performed against Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, the special teams weren’t the only thing that went wrong for the Avs.

#2. The first-period debacle

The Avalanche gave up five goals in the first period, with starting goaltender Justus Annunen surrendering three goals on the first six shots. In total, the Avalanche allowed five goals on 12 shots in the first.

The first-period debacle included a power play goal by Guentzel and a shorthanded marker by Glendening. It seemed as though the Avalanche could not get any sort of momentum going, especially after Ivan Ivan made the game 2-1 at the 8:56 mark of the opening frame.

However, the Avalanche gave up another goal roughly a minute after, derailing the momentum the Avs generated up to that point.

#1. Annunen and Georgiev combined for an awful game

The Avalanche’s goaltending situation continues to be a major concern. Annunen gave up five goals on 16 shots on the night. Meanwhile, Alexandar Georgiev came in to surrender three more goals on 17 shots.

The overall performance was awful from both goalies, further fueling speculation about the need for a change in the crease. However, the blame shouldn’t fall solely on the Avalanche’s goaltenders. The Bolts deserve credit for their relentless forechecking. As a result, the Avs netminders just weren’t ready for the onslaught they faced on Monday night.

The Avalanche will get a day off before facing the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.