It was such a good performance that even Avalanche coach Jared Bednar had no real notes on how to improve. “It was definitely as close to the perfect game as you can get from your players,” Bednar said. “Leaving Game 1 we were dangerous offensively, but I thought there was another step for our team. We evaluated it, showed them some things and they did a good job. And in defense we were much better tonight. It was not even close. I thought we did some big mistakes that led to goals in game 1. We got better in these areas, among others. “
1 Relevant It is not a small feat to score seven goals to a network fan like Andrei Vasilevski. But Colorado had its number from the beginning. Valeri Nichushkin had Avalanche roll early in the first half with a power-play goal, and then Josh Manson followed with a one-way over Vasilevskiy in a hurry. Andre Burakowski had Colorado lead 3-0 after the first 20 minutes. The shooting efforts favored Colorado 24-10. In the second, it was Nichushkin who extended Colorado’s lead again and followed a tremendous individual effort by Darren Helm to make it 5-0. Less than three minutes after the third period, Cale Makar added a short goal to the victory. He added another to the power play to make it 7-0, becoming just the fourth player in NHL history to score short and have the advantage of a man in a Cup final match. The others were Gordie Howe, Glen Wesley and Trevor Linden. This kind of performance would be impressive against any goalkeeper, let alone a Vezina Trophy winner like Vasilevskiy. Bednar tried to keep the achievement in perspective with the overall Colorado game. “The number of goals, I’m not very excited [about]. “I think it has to do with the way we played,” he said. “Some days we shoot better than others and we play like we did tonight, and we don’t get seven. Things have to go right. He is such a good goalkeeper that you have to give him intensity. Tonight we shot very well, we created many opportunities and our children buried the opportunities we took. The children felt it tonight. “ And how. Colorado has consistently proclaimed the importance of not allowing the Tampa Bay lineage to influence its approach. In Game 2, the Avalanche won all battles, were better in special teams (2-for-4 with the extra player, compared to Lightning 0-for-3) and had a strong performance from goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper at 16 – shutdown storage. These were the fewest shots Tampa Bay has made in a playoff game this year. Unsurprisingly, given how little possession time – about 28% – Lightning was able to seize the suffocating Colorado attack for which they had no answers. “[We are] “Hungry on the defensive side of things, trying to win as many games as we can, as many battles as we can, get over the bolts and make it difficult,” Bednar said. “It’s part of our identity and who we are. Our children do it all year round and keep doing it. “Tonight, they did better than we usually do.” As good as Game 2 was, Colorado knows it was just one win. “I feel like we played with our identity in a ‘T’ tonight,” Makar said. “Obviously, we had some good goals. But at the end of the day, we know the next game will bring their best. The next game is always the hardest. It was a bit strange tonight. We get opportunities, but the kids could take advantage, so this is a good place. “ Avalanche suffered a setback on Saturday when Burakowski left the game in the middle of the road with an injury. Bednar was not informed of his condition afterwards, saying he had yet to be evaluated. Burakowski recently lost time in the Western Conference final with a foot injury, but it has been an important part of his return, even scoring the overtime winner in Game 1. Fortunately for Colorado, it does not lack depth. And the Avalanche will need everyone on board as the series shifts to Tampa. The Lightning left behind the Eastern Conference final series against New York also 2-0, then went home to win a pair and eventually overtook the Rangers in four consecutive places to reach a third consecutive Cup Final. Everyone knows it’s not over until it’s over. Bednar said he was confident his team would not progress. “It should be easy for us [going to Tampa]”, he said. “We do not pay attention to the noise outside our locker rooms and we do not pay attention to it when [things being said] they are good. Our team just seems to be really focused, they have called and they are hungry and they want to win, so they play as hard as they can to reach it. [goal]. “
