Colton has 3 goals in 4 games this postseason

Ross Colton is no longer the wide-eyed rookie he was last postseason. He no longer carries that happy-to-be-here demeanor. When the Lightning lose, he’s as angry as the veterans around him and equally determined to show more in the next game.

But there’s still something about the playoffs that brings out the kid in the 25-year-old, and it seems to bring out the best in Colton in some of the most critical moments.

It might not seem like 10 months since Colton scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in Game 5 of the 2021 final against Montreal, earning the right to hoist the Cup in celebration at Amalie Arena, then enjoying his first championship boat parade days later.

But Colton has come a long way in the time since. He’s established himself as a 20-goal scorer while continuing to play a brand of disciplined and hard-nosed hockey that allowed coach Jon Cooper to trust him across any of the team’s four forward lines.

Colton has scored three goals in the first four games of this postseason, including the eventual game-winner in a 7-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday in Game 4. He’s been the glue that’s bonded a line with newcomers Nick Paul and Brandon Hagel that seems to get better with each game of the best-of-7 series that resumes Tuesday night in Toronto.

“He scored one of the most historic goals, a game-winner, in the Stanley Cup final, yes, but that doesn’t make him a big-time playoff performer,” Cooper said. “You’ve got to do it again. But now, he’s showing he is doing it again.”

Colton clearly is embracing the spotlight of the postseason.

“Growing up, just watching playoff hockey, there’s just a different kind of energy that I’ve always wanted to be a part of,” he said after Game 4. “So now, I just get super excited even more to be a part of it and kind of do whatever I can to help the team. I don’t know, I just get excited to come to the rink and work with the rest of the guys.”

Colton has enthusiastic goal celebrations, and the first of his two goals Sunday was a big one.

After the Lightning jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first eight minutes, the game started to tighten up. When defenseman Cal Foote kept the puck alive in the neutral zone early in the second period, Hagel found Colton at the blue line as he drove toward the net. Colton then whipped a wrist shot from the left circle off goaltender Jack Campbell’s glove.

Colton later beat defenseman Morgan Rielly down the ice to tuck in an empty-net goal. Add his power-play goal in Game 3, and Colton has scored in each of his last three home playoff games dating to last season.