Tampa Bay Lightning

Colorado Avalanche are ready to play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday.

“They’re a real deep team. “I mean they’re back where they are for a reason.”

"The way I look at it is, to be the best you've got to expect to be able to beat the best," Avs coach Jared Bednar said Sunday. "That's them. They're the team ...

And that's an exciting challenge and it's going to be fun seeing what we can do as a group. "We have specific keys that we look at and things that we try to accomplish in the offensive zone. A key advantage Tampa Bay has is in playoff experience -- and knowing how to win when it counts. We'll have to be ready for the challenge." "We have to play to our identity," he said. They're in the Final for the third year in a row.

John Romano | Tampa Bay's smothering defense has already gotten it past some of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL.

The last time a Stanley Cup finalist finished the postseason with a scoring average that high was Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers in 1985. More than anything else, that explains Cooper’s mindset in the postseason. The Lightning eliminated his Maple Leafs in the first round. During these Stanley Cup playoffs, the Lightning have a .500 winning percentage (4-4) in games when they have scored two goals or less. It’s just going out and playing as hard as you can for the next guy that sits beside you in that locker room. We trust every guy that goes over the boards to do his job,” captain Steven Stamkos said. The Lightning still had dynamic scorers on offense. Do you want to win the game 8-0? We don’t have to win by six goals, or whatever it may be. Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau anchored the highest-scoring team the NHL had seen in 25 years. Or do you want to win 2-1? New York’s Artemi Panarin was a passing savant with 74 assists in 75 games.

But of those, only Dryden was a Finals mainstay at such a young age as Vasilevskiy is. And in nearly half of the Lightning's postseason games this season — ...

That was a game the Lightning appeared to have business winning. Like the Avs, the Lightning find postseason heroes throughout the roster. Or will this be the Avs’ culmination, winning a Cup in their first Final opportunity? The Canadiens had the worst regular-season record last year of any postseason qualifier, and the Lightning dispatched them in five games. Age and the salary cap are catching up to much of the Lightning roster. The Lightning found their goalie. The Bolts expect Point back at some juncture in the Final. But as with Kadri, the question is when. And in nearly half of the Lightning’s postseason games this season — eight of 17 — he’s allowed one or zero goals. He’s one of eight goaltenders to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) and Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) in his career. And now they sit in their third straight Stanley Cup Final, becoming the first team to make three consecutive finals since the 1983-85 Edmonton Oilers. Only in the 2018-19 postseason did they lay an egg, and it was as embarrassing a playoff faceplant as has ever been seen in professional sports. Tampa Bay lost that series four games to two, but that campaign effectively launched the Lightning into the league’s top tier.

Can the Tampa Bay Lightning hang onto the title belt and secure a three-peat or are the Colorado Avalanche poised for another magnificent moment?

Pavel Francouz has done a nice job in relief, but the Avalanche are going to need Kuemper to find his regular-season form (.921 save percentage, 2.58 GAA) in order to try and knock off the two-time defending champions. Vasilevskiy had some uncharacteristic hiccups during the playoffs, but he’s been exceptional of late and resembling the goalie who has carried the mail and been almost unbeatable both after losses and in elimination games. Palat is a pending unrestricted free agent who won’t be short on suitors and his well-established value is on the rise after coming up with game-winning goals in Games 4 and 5 against the Rangers. Injury info is generally tough to come by, especially at this time of the year but both coaches would love to have these players at their disposal, even if they’re not 100 per cent. Only Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers has saved more goals above expected (according to Money Puck) during the playoffs, and he’s got his save percentage up to .928 and his goals-against average down to 2.28. One of several low-maintenance acquisitions by Avalanche GM Joe Sakic prior to the NHL trade deadline, Lehkonen is someone Bednar can lean on, no matter what the situation is: protecting a lead, looking for the equalizer, killing penalties, or jumping onto the top power-play unit. MacKinnon has been praised by Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar for his willingness to sacrifice some offence to drill in on the details of his head-to-head battle. Two incredibly valuable players are dealing with significant injuries, but both could be involved in this series before it is complete. Hedman is fourth in team scoring (two goals, 14 points in 17 games), averages more than 25 minutes of ice time per game and is used in all situations. The captains are both playing fundamentally sound hockey, providing excellent leadership while chipping in offensively. “It's a step in the right direction. Makar has been outstanding, delivering superb play in all three zones.

To get there a second time, the next year, was a dream too. There was no way we were going back. To go a third time is unbelievable," Lightning coach Jon Cooper ...

"We're going to the finals again. We have a chance to do something really special." It's typically the team that improves the most throughout the run that ends up winning." "There's a reason why there's two teams left, and it's because they're the two best teams in the league. It just needs to get done," Stamkos said. "As the [conference finals] progressed, we got better and better," Killorn said. Cooper said injured star Brayden Point, who hasn't played since Game 7 against the Maple Leafs, might not play in Game 1 but is "extremely probable" to appear in the series. We don't know what's going to happen here in the next 10 to 14 days. "As you progress through the playoffs, each round gets tougher and each opponent gets tougher," he said. But we know we're going to give it our all. To get there a second time, the next year, was a dream too. "To get there the first time was a dream come true.

The Lightning will take on the Colorado Avalanche, who made it this far after sweeping the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals. Nikita Kucherov ...

Nikita Kucherov comes in as the leading point scorer for the Lightning with 23 in 17 games. Game one is set to go in Denver on Wednesday at 5 pm. Tampa has won the last two Stanley Cups and are looking for a three-peat.

They are back in the Final for the third straight season. That's pretty good.

We’re unlikely to see anything like this again. Celebrate this win, folks. Game Seven* - at Colorado Avalanche Tuesday June 28th 8:00 PM EST Game Four - vs Colorado Avalanche Wednesday June 22nd 8:00 PM EST They are dealing with injuries so the rest is good for them, but as we saw with the Lightning in the early games of their last series, a little rust can affect a team that relies on skill. With their victory over the New York Rangers in Game Six the Tampa Bay Lightning are advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive season.