(Tampa) The atmosphere in the Amalie Arena was very cozy during the warm-up and at the start of the match. But an offensive festival, spectacular saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy, a few cuffs exchanged here and there and a bit of Billy Joel in the loudspeakers helped bring the fun back to the house.
Updated at 0:44
The evening ended with the crowd chanting “It’s not over! because it isn’t. The Lightning returned to this final series with a 6-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
The Avalanche lead the series 2-1, and hostilities continue Wednesday in Tampa.
Victory comes with an trepidation, however. Nikita Kucherov retired to the locker room after falling hard down the ramp in the third period. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper had no medical updates to offer.
Photo Phelan M. Ebenhack, Associated Press
Nikita Kucherov (86)
But he didn’t seem angry at all when a colleague asked him how he perceived the sequence on which the Russian was injured, the contact with Devon Toews in particular.
“I know very well that with this kind of question, everyone in the arena knows the answer,” Cooper said. Yes, it’s a contact sport, but smart players know what they’re doing on the ice and we’ve seen it. »
That said, Kucherov himself had just punched rival Josh Manson just off the ramp moments earlier. The animosity between the two teams rose a notch during this match.
Great Stamkos
Steven Stamkos played this match in front of his father, who was chatting to a few journalists during morning training. The Lightning captain was clearly inspired.
Stamkos has been the emotional leader of his team in these series and he was again in this duel. It was announced from the fifth minute when Ondrej Palat and him gave a performance worthy of a fourth line, in a good way. The two attackers pounded the Avalanche defenders with solid shoulder shots, even causing the first penalty of the game. The Tampeños didn’t score on the subsequent power play, but the tone was set.
Photo Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports
Steven Stamkos (91)
“The guys who are supposed to lead your group do it, and the others follow,” Cooper explained. Look at the progress of Stammer and Hedman over the years and it’s no coincidence that victory follows us. »
Stamkos finished the game with a goal, an assist and a 74% faceoff success rate. Cooper fielded him for 31 of 74 faceoffs in that game. He was clearly betting on him.
Cooper could have added Anthony Cirelli among his key players, he who used his speed to annoy the Colorado defense and hit the target. Nick Paul is another who deserves flowers, after making a few trips to the locker room during the game. He skates like an inconvenienced player, but that didn’t stop him from scoring between two visits to the locker room.
“Like a real player, he endured the pain, he came back and he scored the winning goal,” Stamkos said.
Vasilevskiy is another model employee of this victory. In his case, it is above all the circumstances in which he made his 37 saves that are impressive, two days after giving up 7 goals to the Avalanche.
Palat, Corey Perry and Patrick Maroon netted the other winners.
Poor Makar
In the opposing camp, a word on Cale Makar. The Avalanche defenseman finished his night with a minus 3, all of that 24 hours before the awards night. Makar is one of the three finalists for Norris, given to the best defender, and it is obviously not a trophy that is won by matches of – 3.
Photo Phelan M. Ebenhack, Associated Press
Ondrej Palat (18) and Cale Makar (8)
That said, it’s also the kind of evening where we see the limits of this statistic. On Palat’s goal, in the first period, for example, his partner on the blue line, Toews, blundered with the puck, then Mikko Rantanen was badly positioned in withdrawal. In the second period, Maroon added a -1 to Makar’s record, but his angled backhand shot should have been blocked by Darcy Kuemper. It was this goal that meant the end of broadcasts for the Avalanche starting goaltender, replaced by Pavel Francouz.
To this end, head coach Jared Bednar will have a delicate file to manage between now and Wednesday: choosing his starting goalkeeper between Kuemper and Francouz. The latter won six games in Kuemper’s absence earlier in the playoffs, while the veteran was okay in Game 1 of the Finals and barely tested in Game 2.
“He didn’t have a very good night,” admitted Bednar. But neither does the team. We win and we lose as a team. No one played at a good enough level. »