The reigning Stanley Cup champions may have been on the ropes. But Tampa Bay Lightning, winners of consecutive titles, returned home and reduced their deficit from two games to one, beating Colorado Avelanch 6-2.
Not only the deficit of two games in the Stanley Cup final worried Lightning fans, but also how Avalanche won. Colorado jumped to early leads in both games and in Game 2 absolutely dominated Tampa. Goalkeeper Andrei Vassilevski, one of the best post-season goalkeepers in NHL history, was eliminated for seven goals on Saturday.
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But on Monday, the Colorado goalkeeper felt the tension. Darcy Kumper was drawn when Tampa Bay took a 5-2 lead after half a second.
Here’s what happened when Lightning brought him back to his home ice in Game 3.
We have a series
Colorado is in somewhat unexplored territory.
Avalanche had not lost since May 25, before falling 6-2 in Game 3. They had not lost in the postseason, a point, with such a big difference. Darcy Kumper was pulled out, placing a cloud over their goalkeepers. This whole assessment of depth has dried up. Everything was bad.
Tampa Bay was a force. It had to be an exciting victory. But the Lightning lost Nick Paul and Nikita Kucherov due to obvious injuries in the process. Kucherov came out late in the third after catching up with Devon Toews on the boards. Paul left in the second period as soon as he scored.
It was the first loss of the road that Colorado suffered in the playoffs, but they still lead the series 2-1. Tampa Bay remains perfect at home in the postseason. What does this portend for game 4 on Wednesday? Stay on the line. “Kristen Shilton.”
Tampa Bay came to play
As John Cooper said before Game 3: “These guys are a great team, but so are we. And we’ve been to these places before. “
He’s right; Lightning has fallen before. They have been counted before. And just like in these places, reports of their deaths in the Stanley Cup final seem greatly exaggerated.
Second review period: pic.twitter.com/d10Uflmrsp
– Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 21, 2022
Just as Lightning returned from a 2-0 away deficit in the Eastern Conference final, they look like a different team in Match 3 against Avalanche. They collected 16 shots in Game 2; they pumped 26 knocks on Avalanche’s door tonight. They won 50% of the strike attempts in two periods, after receiving only 29% of them in Game 2. They could not score by virtue of the game in the first two games; they finally listed one in Game 3. Their stars were kept under control in Denver; Nikita Kucherov, Stephen Stamkos, Ondrej Palat and Viktor Hedman had many points.
Oh, and perhaps most importantly: they scored six goals against Avalanche’s two goals and chased Colorado goalkeeper Darcy Kumper in the process.
“We have to go out and find our best game right now,” Pat Maroon said before Game 3, in which he contributed a goal to the attack. “They haven’t seen the best of us. So we’re excited. We hope we can show them the best of ourselves tonight.”
In 40 minutes they showed something close to him. But there are still 20 minutes and Avalanche are one of the few teams that can overcome the difference of four goals. “Greg Wiszynski.”
Colorado down big in two
Jared Bednar did not hesitate. When Lightning took a 5-2 lead after the middle of the second minute, Darcy Kumper was out after conceding five goals in 21 shots. Paul Francois received the nod.
It had to be done.
Kumper was sharp at the beginning of the first period, but it became a problem. He could not withstand the pressure of Lightning, and Colorado (perhaps not accidentally) did not play with confidence in front of him.
This was the first match in a while in which Kumper was really called to strengthen. Tampa Bay fell behind in the Cup final 2-0 and everyone knew there was a setback. Avalanche haven’t faced much difficulty lately, and Kuemper, who saw just 16 shots in Game 2, hasn’t done well.
Of course, Colorado doesn’t do much to help any of their network administrators. Lightning reversed the script from Game 2 and won the races and battles. They beat Colorado in his own game. And Andrei Vassilevski seems closed again. This could be even worse for Avalanche than seeing their own starting fight. “Shilton.”
Lightning in the lead through one
For the most part, Lightning’s first period felt more like survival than an insistent response to Avalanche’s 2-0 lead in the series. They needed to save Andrej Vassilevski’s finger against JT Compher about four minutes after the start of the game. They needed the NHL Situation Room to take Valery Nichushkin’s goal off the board thanks to offside. They needed Anthony Sirelli’s funky goalless shot to slip past Darcy Kuemper into the net for the first goal of the second period of Game 1.
But then, for a moment, they looked like Lightning again. Ondrej Palat steals the puck from a pass from Devon Tows. Nikita Kucherov attracts defenders to the offensive zone. Stephen Stamkos scored Palat for the goal to make the score 2-1, as the undefeated winger scored a point in his ninth consecutive playoff game at home. And Vasilevsky kept his lead against more pressure in Colorado, as Avs had 14 shots on goal during the period.
Lightning are 6-1 when leading after one period. More importantly, they did not lag behind by several goals after the first 10 minutes of the match in this series. Small victories. – Vishinsky
The avalanche is lagging behind
Valery Nichushkin believes that he scored the first goal of the match with a modified shot, which beat Andrei Vassilevsky at the beginning of the first period.
Tampa Bay would receive a change.
The lightning successfully challenged the game as an offside, removing the wind from the Colorado sails in a frame controlled primarily by Tampa Bay.
However, this did not last long. Colorado is as resilient a team as you will find and has proven it again in both Tampa Bay’s initial push and their early chance at a powerful game. The avalanche not only holds the Lightning, but also draws a penalty. Gabriel Landeskog noted the following advantage of man to reverse the tides of Tampa Bay.
It was the ninth consecutive unanswered goal scored by Colorado in this series.
It was a nine-minute stretch that showed the best of Colorado: depth, strength of spirit, talent, identity.
The avalanche will need more of these segments as night falls. They became careless over the period. And it is the Lightning that takes advantage of a pair of goals. Colorado hasn’t had to face much difficulty lately. Between the canceled goal and the lag in the Cup final for the first time, how will you cope with the real challenge now? “Shilton.”
Famous fans
Colorado Rockies’ Peter and Denver-born Kyle Freeland stood out in the crowd as he applauded his hometown team.
Friendly persons in enemy territory 🥰
Thanks for showing up and showing, @ KFREE_21! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/TRCh5VEmNY
– Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 21, 2022
Did anyone say “chicken parm”?
Peanut butter and jelly. Batman and Robin. John Buccigross and chicken parm. The tradition of teams presenting Buccigross with the dish continued before Game 3. The flash even included its mascot, ThunderBug.
With fur only for @Buccigross 🤌 pic.twitter.com/BPqyhMr9nA
– ThunderBug (@ThunderBugTBL) June 20, 2022
In case you need a better view, our Greg Wiszynski will cover you.
ESPN behind the scenes: Preparing the chicken for @Buccigross in THE POINT, filmed in Super Sauce Vision! pic.twitter.com/zr4uiiFYme
– Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 20, 2022
Tampa Bay fell, but did not come out
Is the situation ideal? no. Is the series over? Far from it. Will it make Tampa Bay fans break through a wall before the puck falls? Probably.
Rewrite the story. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/AwMiVyTMrY
– Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 20, 2022
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