Jost, Francouz help Avalanche beat Lightning 6-2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tyson Jost had three goals, Pavel Francouz made 44 saves, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 Saturday night to remain the only NHL team without a regulation loss this season.

Colorado’s 7-0-1 start is the second-longest season opening point streak in franchise history, behind only the 9-0-2 start in 2000-01.

Jost opened the scoring 3:09 into the game and completed his first career hat trick with a pair of goals coming 2:49 apart early in the second period.

The 29-year-old Francouz followed up his first career start and win Oct. 12 against Arizona with a number of nifty saves, including a post-to-post pad stop in the first on Ondrej Palat.

Colorado, 3-0-1 on a six-game road trip, also got goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen. Colin Wilson had three assists.

Yanni Gourde and Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning, who returned home after a 3-2-1 road trip. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 17 shots.

The Avalanche went up 2-1 when Jost got his second goal at 3:17 of the second. After Landeskog scored at 5:48, Jost made it 4-1 just 18 seconds later from in-close off a pass by J.T. Compher.

Compher had two assists.

Kadri, Rantanen, who deked out two defenders, and Hedman had third-period goals.

Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov sent a penalty-shot backhander in the third over the net.

NOTES: Referee Kelly Sutherland left early in the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. Colorado D Cale Makar lost his balance skating through the low slot during an in-close scoring chance and collided with Sutherland in the corner. … Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon assisted on Landeskog’s goal and has a point in all eight games this season.

UP NEXT:

Avalanche: At St. Louis on Monday night.

Lightning: Host Pittsburgh Wednesday night in the second of three straight home games.