CREASE LIGHTNING
After scoring six goals, getting Avs goalie Kuemper pulled, Tampa Bay looks to even Final in Game 4
TAMPA, Fla. — So much for the notion that the Lightning might be running out of gas against the speedy Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final.
It turns out the team’s recipe for postseason success still works when the two-time defending champs incorporate all the ingredients: goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy reverting to his customary stingy ways, Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman lighting up the scoresheet and a slew of lesser-known role players contributing offensively and defensively.
The Lightning still trail the series 2-1 after bouncing back from the most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history to beat the Avalanche in Game 3. Coach Jon Cooper is confident his team is trending in the right direction.
“I probably use this word too often,’’ Cooper said, ‘‘but there’s a recipe in place for us to have success. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see what hasn’t worked for us in games where we’ve gotten blown out and what’s worked for us in the games we’ve won. A big part of it is managing the puck.
“[The Avalanche] are a hell of a team. You give them an inch; they’ll take a mile. So you have to take away the inches all over the ice. And if it breaks down, you hope your goalie is there to make a save for you. If you manage the puck, it all takes off from there.”
Game 4 is Wednesday night at Amalie Arena, with Colorado looking to move within one victory of its first Stanley Cup title since 2001 and Tampa Bay continuing its bid for the NHL’s first three-peat in nearly 40 years.
Two nights after yielding seven goals in a blowout loss, Vasilevskiy rebounded with 37 saves in a 6-2 victory Monday night.
The Lightning’s depth was an asset, too, with six players scoring goals and 10 showing up on the scoresheet.
“I know it’s similar to the last series, being 2-1, but we still need to win the next one,’’ Cooper said. ‘‘It’ll be tough on us if we just sat here and said: ‘OK, we got one. We’re going to be OK tomorrow.’ Each game gets tougher and tougher. But the guys, give them credit. They knew what they had to do, and they did it. But now we have to do it again.”
Cooper hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Kucherov being available Wednesday. He hobbled off after a taking a cross-check from Devon Toews in the third period Monday.
Despite questions about who Colorado’s goalie will be, the Avs believe they’re still in control of the series. A win in Game 4 would give them a commanding 3-1 lead heading back to Denver for Game 5 on Friday night.
“If you look at it, we’re still in the driver’s seat,’’ Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said. ‘‘We knew coming in here that it would be tough to win both games. The way they played at home and the way they responded after a lot of losses in the playoffs, we knew they were going to come with their best game . . . . For us to get the split, we’d be sitting pretty good.’’
The Avalanche pulled goalie Darcy Kuemper after he allowed five goals on 22 shots in Game 3, replacing him with Pavel Francouz.
Coach Jared Bednar did not say if he’ll stick with Kuemper as the starter for Game 4. “That’s one possibility,” Bednar said. Defenseman Jack Johnson said the Avalanche have confidence in both goalies and are focused on regrouping as a team.
“We’re not letting anything deter us from accomplishing our goal,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s no reason for us to waver mentally. Even [Monday], we did a lot of good things for good stretches of the game. There’s no reason for us to have any frustration or downness in our mentality.”