It was not just the two-game deficit in the Stanley Cup final that worried Lightning fans, but also how Avalanche had won. Colorado took an early lead in both games and, in Game 2, dominated Tampa. Goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevski, one of the best goalkeepers in NHL history after the season, conceded 7 goals on Saturday.
1 Relevant But on Monday, it was the Colorado goalkeeper who felt the pressure. Darcy Kuber was pulled in when Tampa Bay led 5-2 before the second half. See what happened as Lightning did it back on the ice of their home in Game 3.
We have a series
Colorado is located in a somewhat uncharted area. The Avalanche had not lost since May 25 before falling 6-2 in Game 3. They had not lost in the postseason, period, by such a large margin. Darcy Kuemper was caught, putting a cloud over their goal. All this deep score dried up. It was all bad. Tampa Bay was a force. It should have been an exciting victory. In addition, Lightning lost Nick Paul and Nikita Kucherov due to obvious injuries in the process. Kucherov left late in the third after tying with Devon Toews along the boards. Paul left in the second period, immediately after the goal. This was Colorado’s first road defeat in the playoffs, but it still leads the series, 2-1. Tampa Bay remains perfect at home in the post-season. What does this foretell for Wednesday’s 4th game? Stay tuned. – Kristen Shelton
Tampa Bay came to play
As Jon Cooper said before Game 3: “These guys are a good team, but so are we. And we’ve said it before.” He is right; Lightning has fallen in the past. They have been measured in the past. And just as in those places, the reports of their loss in the Stanley Cup final seem very exaggerated. Second review period: pic.twitter.com/d10Uflmrsp – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 21, 2022 Just as Lightning roared from the 2-0 deficit on the road in the Eastern Conference final, they look like a different team in Game 3 against Avalanche. They collected 16 shots in game 2. they have thrown 26 shots at Avalanche’s goal tonight. They won 50% of the shooting attempts in two seasons after achieving only 29% of them in the 2nd game. They could not score in power play in the first two games. Eventually they reached one in Game 3. Their stars were kept under control in Denver. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman had multi-point games. Oh, and perhaps most importantly: They scored six goals, with two goals from Avalanche, and chased Colorado goalkeeper Darcy Kumber into the process. “We have to go out there and find our best game right now,” Pat Maroon said before Game 3, in which he contributed one goal to the attack. “They have not seen our best. So we are excited. Hopefully we can show them our best tonight.” Within 40 minutes they showed something close. But there are still 20 minutes left and the Avalanche are one of the few teams that could bridge a four-goal lead. – Greg Wisinski
Colorado under both
Jared Bednar did not hesitate. When the Lightning took a 5-2 lead in the second half, Darcy Kumber was left out after five goals in 21 shots. Pavel François nodded. It had to be done. Kuemper was abrupt early in the first period, but had become passive. He could not stand the pressure of Lightning and Colorado (perhaps not accidentally) did not play confidently in front of him. This was the first game in a long time that Kuemper was really called upon to strengthen. Tampa Bay was left behind in the Cup final with 2-0 and everyone knew that a repulse was coming. The Avalanche have not faced much adversity lately and Kuemper, who saw only 16 shots in Game 2, did not handle it well. Admittedly, Colorado does not do much to help any of its online employees. Lightning have reversed the script from Game 2 and are winning races and battles. They beat Colorado in their own game. And Andrei Vasilevsky looks locked up again. This can be even worse for the Avalanche than watching their own start. – Shilton
Lightning in the lead through one
For much of it, Lightning’s first bout looked much more like survival than a dynamic response to the Avalanche series’s 2-0 lead. Andrei Vasilevskiy’s foot needed to be saved by JT Compher about four minutes after the game. They needed the NHL Situation Room to remove Valeri Nichushkin’s floater goal from the board thanks to an offside. It took a funky goal “no shot” by Anthony Cirelli to get Darcy Kuemper into the net for the first goal of the second period of Game 1. But then, in a flash, they looked like Lightning again. Audrey Palat steals the elf from a passage by Devon Tous. Nikita Kucherov puts the defenders close to the attack zone. Steven Stamkos set up Palat for a goal to make it 2-1, as the invisible winger scored a point in the ninth consecutive home playoff game. And Vasilevskiy kept the lead against more pressure in Colorado, as the Avs had 14 shots on goal at the time. The Lightning are 6-1 when they are ahead after a period. The most important thing is that they did not lag behind with many goals after the first 10 minutes of a game in this series. Small victories. – Wisinski
The avalanche is left behind
Valeri Nichushkin thought he’s his first goal of the match – a hat trick for Andrei Vasilevskiy early in the first half. It was Tampa Bay who would take the change. Lightning successfully challenged the game as offside, clearing the air from the Colorado sails in a context dominated primarily by Tampa Bay. It did not last long though. Colorado is as resilient a team as you will find and it showed it again when it overcame the initial push of Tampa Bay and the early opportunity to play with strength. Not only did the Avalanche keep the Lightning, but it also took a penalty. Gabriel Landeskog scored in the lead to turn the tide in Tampa Bay. This was the ninth consecutive goal scored by Colorado in this series. It was a nine-minute journey that showed the best of Colorado: Depth, vigor, talent, identity. Avalanche will need more of these sections as the night unfolds. They became sloppy as the period passed. And it was the Lightning who took advantage of it with a pair of goals. Colorado has not had to deal with a lot of adversity lately. Between the goal that was overturned and the end of this Final Cup for the first time, how will they manage a real challenge now? – Shilton
Famous fans
Colorado Rockies pitcher and Denver-based Kyle Freeland stood out from the crowd as he cheered on his hometown team. Friendly people in hostile territory 🥰 Thanks for the look and feel, @ KFREE_21! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/TRCh5VEmNY – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 21, 2022
Did anyone say “chicken parma”?
Peanut butter and jelly. Batman and Robin. John Buccigross and Chicken Parma. The tradition of the teams presenting Buccigross with the meal continued before the 3rd game. The Lightning even got their mascot, ThunderBug. With a fur side only for @Buccigross 🤌 pic.twitter.com/BPqyhMr9nA – ThunderBug (@ThunderBugTBL) June 20, 2022 In case you needed a better look, Greg Wyshynski covers you. ESPN Behind The Scenes: Preparation of chicken parma for @Buccigross at THE POINT, filmed at Super Sauce Vision! pic.twitter.com/zr4uiiFYme – Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 20, 2022
Tampa Bay is down but not out
Is the situation ideal? No. Is the series over? Away from that. Will this Lightning’s campaign video get Tampa Bay fans ready to walk through a wall before the elf falls? Probably. Rewrite history. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/AwMiVyTMrY – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 20, 2022
