Ben Bishop stopped 21 shots for his second shutout of the season and Steven Stamkos scored twice, helping the Tampa Bay Lighting beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-0 on Tuesday night for their first win in Denver since 2004.
Ondrej Palat added a goal and two assists, and Tyler Johnson scored late as the Lightning wrapped up a 3-1 road trip.
Stamkos gave Bishop a comfortable cushion with two goals in 3:37 during the second period. Bishop has allowed two goals or fewer in 20 of his last 25 starts. He did break one quirky trend, though: It was his first win on a Tuesday. Bishop is now 1-5-1 on that particular day of the week this season.
Semyon Varlamov struggled in his second straight start, allowing four goals. He was pulled in Chicago on Sunday after yielding four goals.
The Mile High City hasn't exactly been a friendly place for the Lightning in recent seasons, with their last triumph in Denver a 3-0 win on March 1, 2004.
Tampa Bay's precision passing set up Stamkos' two goals in the second period. He took a perfect feed from Vladislav Namestnikov and caught Varlamov out of position for his first goal. Palat set up Stamkos' second with a pass from behind the net.
Stamkos has 20 goals this season.
This is how the night went for the Avalanche: They had a 2-on-1 break in the second, when Matt Duchene dished the puck over to Alex Tanguay, who was stopped by a sliding Bishop.
The Lightning were called for hooking on the play, but Colorado couldn't convert on the power play.
Palat gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with his first goal since Oct. 23. He collected a rebound near the skates of Varlamov, maneuvered around the goalie and sent a wrist shot into the net.
Before the game, Colorado honored Jarome Iginla for scoring his 600th goal last week. His family joined him on the ice as the team gave No. 12 a commemorative plaque. Avalanche executive and fellow 600-goal scorer Joe Sakic also presented Iginla with a silver stick.
NOTES: Tampa Bay D Victor Hedman and Namestnikov each had two assists. ... Avalanche D Erik Johnson (lower-body injury) was back on the ice Tuesday morning. "Progress from there," coach Patrick Roy said. ... Out most of the season with a back ailment, D Brad Stuart might be nearing a return. "He said he had a great day yesterday. For me, it's one day at a time when you have a back injury," Roy said. "Some days are good. Some days are not."
