The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lightning look to even up Stanley Cup Final
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.
Turns out the team’s recipe for postseason success still works when the twotime 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.