Earlier Colorado should have anticipated losing the Stanley Cup goaltending match. When facing great goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, the majority of clubs would.
The Avalanche couldn’t have afforded to concede goals, but it doesn’t mean they should have lost the series; they’ve demonstrated they can overpower Tampa Bay’s skaters.
And that’s what happened in Game 3 on Monday, in part because of a lackluster performance by Darcy Kuemper and in part due to defensive lapses.
Stanely Cup: Lightning Take Crucial Game 3 Victory Over Avalanche
Kuemper abandoned the game in the middle of the second frame after allowing five goals on 22 shots. He had stopped 2.25 fewer goals than anticipated, according to Evolving-Hockey.
Jared Bednar, the coach, must now decide whether to remain with Kuemper, who has been the starter for the whole season or go with Pavel Francouz, the No. 2 pitcher, who has six wins this playoff, including all four of Colorado’s victories in the Western Conference Finals. After the game, Bednar refused to elaborate on his ideas, saying that the staff would make its choice in the same manner as always.
No one on Nick Paul’s new team was particularly surprised when he scored what ended up being the game-winning goal in a 6-2 victory over the Avalanche on Monday night, cutting Tampa Bay’s series deficit to 2-1.
Paul, after all, has proven to be a clutch player ever since he joined the Lightning from Ottawa just before the trade deadline, including scoring both goals in a Game 7 win over the Leafs in Round 1.
Even though this is his first postseason appearance as a professional, Paul’s coaches claim that due to his stature and poise, he was designed for this time of year.
In-Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-2. The Avalanche are ahead 2-1 in the series.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche will play in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST in Tampa’s Amalie Arena.
Despite being down 2-0 in the series going into Game 3, the Lightning came back to Amalie Arena and defeated the Avalanche, 6-2, on Monday night. Colorado now leads the series, 2-1, so the Lightning will try to tie it up.
In Game 3, Gabriel Landeskog scored the first goal, giving the Avalanche a head start on the power play. But the Lightning rallied before the first period was finished, scoring goals from Anthony Cirelli and Ondrej Palat to take the lead. The offensive struggle persisted in the second period, during which the Lightning added four more goals to increase their advantage.
For the Avalanche, Gabriel Landeskog added another, but it was insufficient.
After recovering from the most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history to defeat the Avalanche in Game 3, the Lightning still trails the best-of-seven series 2-1.
Coach Jon Cooper is assured that his team is moving in the right direction.
There is a plan in place for us to succeed, albeit I probably use this word too frequently. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what hasn’t worked for us in games where we’ve been thoroughly outplayed and what has in games where we’ve prevailed. Managing the puck is a significant part of it- said Cooper.
The Avalanche is an incredible squad. Therefore, you must remove the inches from the entire ice, the coach continued. And if it malfunctions, you hope your goaltender will be there to save the day.
If you control the puck, everything starts to go forward.
Wednesday night’s Game 4 will be held at Amalie Arena, with Colorado aiming to get closer to winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001 and Tampa Bay continuing its quest for the NHL’s first three-peat in almost 40 years.
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