Colorado knocked out the reigning champion in the first final of the Stanley Cup in overtime, but there is still room for improvement, writes Tommi Seppälä of NH Sport’s NHL reporter Denver.
DENVER. No match between the two giants has been seen in the NHL finals, but a hockey treat is now promised, during which it is not worth going to the fridge.
In the opening match, Colorado and reigning champion Tampa set up an extremely entertaining and good drama arcade event.
Colorado, who won the opening race overtime, gave the first warning of how it will hurt double champion Tampa with its Speed. This was especially evident in the opening round, where Colorado was clearly ahead of the guests and put 3–1 readings on the board at a fast pace.
However, Tampa gathered its lines, as always.
Lightning defended well in the second round and tempered to play loose discs humbly into the midfield and deep into it. Gradually, it started to get more grip and suddenly the match was exactly 3 to 3 as a result of two quick goals.
The goal summary of the match can be viewed in the following video.
In the first fight, entertaining hockey was played in all respects. The game was hard and there were more than 80 tackles, but no excesses were seen. The match was the latest indication that a good hockey match doesn’t require fights or the post-whistling toughness – probably the world’s most dangerous superiority games guarantee self-discipline.
The Finns were prominently featured in the struggle.
Mikko Rantanen with his chains strong as expected, winning five to five shots 10-2 and finishing 6-1. Rantanen also started with 1-0 and 3-1 hits. Artturi Lehkonen struck the back pole from Rantanen’s serve with a superior goal, but otherwise didn’t play the best of the season. Lehkonen, who played in the three-way chain at five times, lost his game 0-2.
Lehkonen plays the same all spring of his life.
Something about the situation in Turku in Denver is the great responsibility in special situations. The TPS breeder played with overpowering for more than three and underpowering for over two minutes. The combined special situation ice time was longer than for any other Colorado player. In Montreal, this was not the case with Lehkonen.
However, there is still room for improvement for both, including Colorado.
Avalanche is a quality team, but it collapses – it feels like its inexperience – from time to time careless play with the puck. Even on Thursday, it tried too often, especially in the 3-1 lead, to play in places where you should have settled for a demolition disc or the demolition discs could not be deep enough.
Such negligence invites Tampa, at its best in retaliation, to eat in a dangerous way.
Tampa will play more humbly and confidently when it comes to relieving pressure on the long hanging discs, but at the same time, its key players missed the best performance badly on Thursday. Superstar goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevski slipped behind him a couple of easy goals and a star defender Victor Hedmanin the squabbling led to a 2-0 hit.
Extension in the paint Mikhail Sergatsev weak counter-attacking in the middle of the field launched a counterattack that led to the goal.
A particularly high-quality game may not have been seen yet, but there was even more entertainment value and drama on offer, and this will certainly continue to be the case. It is certain that the moments will continue to change frequently. The twists and turns inside matches can be dramatic as there is a huge amount of skill on the ice, as is the desire and enthusiasm to attack and score goals.
So let’s hope for a long and grueling series. This is often not the case.