Lightning look to even Stanley Cup Final
TAMPA, Fla. — So much for the notion that the Tampa Bay Lightning might be running out of gas
against the speedy Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final.
Turns out the team’s recipe for postseason
success still works when the two-time defending champions
incorporate all the ingredients.
Like goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy reverting 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, too.
The Lightning still trail the best-of-seven
series 2-1 after bouncing back from the
most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history to beat the Avalanche in Game 3. C oach Jon Cooper is
confident his team is trending in the right direction.
“I probably use this word too often, 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,” Cooper said.
“(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,” the coach added. “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 a total of 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. It’ll be tough on us if we just sat here and
said: `OK, we got one. We’re going to be OK tomorrow,’” Cooper
said. “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.”
Despite questions about who Colorado’s goaltender will
be moving forward, the Avalanche feel they’re still in control
of the series. A win Wedesday night would give them a commanding 3-1 lead
heading back to Denver for Game 5 on Friday night.
“If you look at it, we are still in the driver’s
seat . ... We knew coming in here that it would be tough to win
both games,” Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said.
“The way they played at home, and the way they responded after a lot of losses
in the playoffs, we knew that they were going to come with their best game . ... For us to get the split, we’d
be sitting pretty good,” Johnson added.
The Avalanche pulled goalie Darcy Kuemper after the
netminder allowed five goals on 22 shots in Game 3, replacing
him with Pavel Francouz.
Coach Jared Bednar did not say if he will
stick with Kuemper as the starter for Game 4.
“That’s one possibility,” Bednar said.
Colorado’s 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 . ... There’s no reason for us to waver
mentally at all,” the defenseman said. “Even (Monday night), we did a lot of really good things for good
stretches of the game. There’s no reason for
us to have any frustration or downness in our mentality.” HIGH-SCORING
AFFAIR
The Avalanche (13) and Lightning (9) have