Perhaps the Colorado Avalanche are mortal after all.

A few days ago, the Avalanche had just two regulation losses. In the past three days, they’ve doubled that total, as they dropped their second consecutive regulation game on Tuesday in Tampa Bay by a score of 4-2.

Here are five takeaways from Colorado’s loss.

1. The Avalanche played without Devon Toews and Gabriel Landeskog, and it’ll be that way for a while. Jared Bednar announced Landeskog and Toews are week-to-week, with Toews expected back in the lineup before the captain. Sweden’s coach for the Olympics, Sam Hallam, told the media in Sweden that they’ve been in contact with Landeskog and the Avalanche and have no plans to remove him from the team for injury reasons as of this moment. The Olympic Games are a little under 40 days away. Either way, the Avalanche are going to play for a stretch here without two guys who are very important to the team on and off the ice.
2. With no Landeskog, Gavin Brindley moved up to the second line but that line spent the majority of their night in their own end. Brindley finished with the worst possession numbers on the team. Colorado is going to need more from Brindley, as well as Ross Colton and Victor Olofsson. Brindley has no goals in 10 games, Colton has none in 19, and Olofsson has just one in 23.
3. One guy who has been pretty consistent in his role is Parker Kelly, who tied a career high with his eighth goal of the season against Tampa. You know exactly what you’re going to get every single night from the Alberta native. That fourth line was Colorado’s most consistent against Tampa.
4. It might be too simple to look at it this way, but it’s true: the power play was the difference in this game. Both teams only got two opportunities with the man advantage, but Tampa capitalized on one of them. The Avalanche did not. That’s two games in a row where special teams has been the difference.
5. It would surprise no one if these two teams meet again in the Stanley Cup final. That’s a very good Lightning squad that is playing without a few important defensemen in Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh. They gave the Avalanche no room the neutral zone, and Colorado got a bit stubborn with their puck management. The Lightning weren’t going to let the Avalanche enter the zone with possession and Colorado kept trying, playing right into their hands.

Lightning 4, Avalanche 2

What happened: Tampa held the Avalanche to just one shot on goal in the first 15 minutes of the third period, taking the road team off its game.

What went right: Colorado’s depth came to play, as its third and fourth lines were easily its strongest. The fourth line capitalized on the first goal for the Avalanche, but the momentum started with a great shift by the Drury line.

What went wrong: It was a rare poor performance from Nathan MacKinnon, although he was dominant in the faceoff circle. Those types of games are rare, which is why they catch you off guard when they happen. Even when he isn’t at his best, he still gets some looks, as he finished with five shots on goal. It wasn’t the best night for Cale Makar, either. He lost positioning on his man on two of Tampa’s goals.

Avalanche goal scorers: Kelly (8), Nelson (19)

Lightning goal scorers: Guentzel (19), Girgensens (6), Hagel (20), Cirelli (12)

Between the pipes: Scott Wedgewood took the loss with 24 saves. Andrei Vasilevsky was great at the other end for the Lightning.

What’s next: The Avalanche will begin a seasonlong seven-game home stand on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m.