The assumption that the Tampa Bay Lightning might run out of energy in the Stanley Cup Final against the speedy Colorado Avalanche may no longer hold water.
In fact, it seems the Lightning’s recipe for playoff success still works very well when the two-time defending champions incorporate all the ingredients that lead to their success.
Like goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy who becomes impenetrable again; like Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman who all blacken the scoresheet; and like all those lesser-known players who work well on offense and defense, too.
The Lightning are now down 2-1 in their best-of-seven series after beating the Avalanche 6-2 in Game 3 on Monday, which followed the stingiest loss in organizational history. Florida in the playoffs.
Head coach Jon Cooper believes his team has managed to redirect the rudder.
“I use this term perhaps too often, but there is a recipe in place for us to be successful. You don’t have to be a neurosurgeon to see what went wrong for us in the games we got patched and what worked for us in the games we won. A lot of that has to do with puck management,” Cooper said.
” [L’Avalanche] form a remarkable team. You give his players an inch, they’ll take a mile. So you have to eliminate thumbs all over the rink,” added Cooper.
“And if that doesn’t work, you want your keeper to be there to make a save. When you manage the puck, it all starts from there. »
Game 4 is Wednesday night at Amalie Arena, where the Avalanche will look to come within a win of their first Stanley Cup title since 2001.
Towards a third cup in a row?
For their part, the Lightning will look to continue their quest for a third straight championship, a feat that has not been achieved in nearly 40 years in the NHL.
Two nights after giving up seven goals in a thaw, Vasilevskiy rebounded by stopping 37 pucks on Monday night.
The depth of the Lightning has also proven to be a profitable weapon. Six different players found the back of the net on Monday, and a total of 10 players had at least one point.
“I know it’s the same as the previous round, with the score 2-1, but we still need to win the next game. It’s going to be tough for us if we just sit there and say, ‘OK, we’ve won a game. Tomorrow will be fine,’” Cooper remarked.
“Each game is getting harder and harder. But you have to give credit to the guys. They knew what they had to do and they did it. But now we have to do it another time. »
Despite observers questioning who the Avalanche goaltender will start the next game, the Colorado players feel they are still in control of the series.
With a win Wednesday, the Avalanche would give themselves a 3-1 lead when they meet their fans for Game 5, which is Friday night.
“When you look at the situation, we are still sitting in the driver’s seat. […] We knew it would be tough to come in here and win both games,” Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said.
“From the way they played at home, and the way they reacted after multiple losses in the playoffs, we knew they were going to put up their best game. […] If we manage to split the two meetings, we will be in a good position,” added Johnson.
The Avalanche removed Darcy Kuemper after the goaltender conceded five goals on 22 shots in Game 3, and replaced him with Pavel Francouz.
Head coach Jared Bednar didn’t say if he would trust Kuemper again in Game 4.
“That’s a possibility,” Bednar replied.
Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson said the team had faith in both goalies and their goal was to pull themselves together as a group.
“We don’t let anything deter us from achieving our goal. […] We have no reason to mentally falter,” said the defender.
” Same [lundi soir], we did a lot of good things in good parts of the game. There is no reason for us to display frustration or a downturn in our attitude. »