Tampa Bay took one of its toughest victories during its dynasty years, and this period, however, includes two Stanley Cup victories, writes Sport NHL journalist Tommi Seppälä of Denver.
DENVER The fifth final of the Stanley Cup in Denver was, in a word, a tremendous show at Tampa Bay Lightning. The starting points for the match were incredibly difficult and the roar at the Colorado home arena was louder than in any Stanley Cup final series for years.
However, Tampa’s hand didn’t start to shake.
No, even though it got into a match without its No. 1 center Brayden Pointia. No, although it is known that more players on the team are playing with some kind of injury. No, even though it was a 1-3 loss in the match series and thus only one loss away at the end of the season. On top of all this, there was the highest quality team Tampa has played against during his dynasty.
In addition to this, the background was haunted by a total break two days ago at home in a 2-1 lead. The team ran out of gas and Colorado put it in a terrible mangel in the third installment and overtime, which ultimately led to Colorado’s winning goal.
There was no information about fatigue on Saturday morning in Finnish time.
Like the four-handed game, Tampa defended the center nicely, in addition to which the performance of its puck playing was at a diamond level throughout the match. Its own starts were excellent, it crossed the midfield at a rapid pace, allowing it to bitter better and get more rotation in the offensive line than in previous matches.
And most importantly, Tampa made virtually no mistakes with the gameplay. There was very little puck loss from the away team that led to changes of direction and goals. Colorado, on the other hand, had to be helped off the pitch as an injury meant he was unable to finish the game.
Still, the most amazing in the match series is Tampa’s tenacity, fighting and strength of character.
The team has only played well into the summer for the past three years and has been under a relentless load for a long time, but so only once again did the team hit the table best in the toughest possible situation. Tampa is an incredibly tough group in terms of coaching and leadership, Saturday was the latest example.
The last lock was, as usual, the Russian goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevski, who had not yet robbed any matches in the series against their own stakes, contrary to expectations. Now is.
Nervous Colorado
Colorado seemed nervous on Saturday. Perhaps Lord Stanley’s trophy, which had been waiting in the stands and behind the scenes on Friday night, made the team a little uneasy after all. Avalanchella had its moment and place in the match, but in the big picture it fell far short of its best level.
The game lacked speed and discipline lack of care and restraint.
And its best players by no means reached the top level in the first playoff game. Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen – at the forefront – were the players from whom the home crowd was expecting more. The number one led by MacKinnon finally took Tampa’s winning goal.
The goalkeeper game is also still a hot potato in Colorado.
Darcy Kuemper saved Jan Ruttan in the opening round of the shot from the edge far too easily. There was no obstruction of any kind in the situation, and Rutta had nothing at all Brett Hullin no shot. Kuemper seems to score one easy goal in every game.
If Tampa is able to play at the level seen, Kuemper’s poor level becomes a real problem in goal games.
In Colorado, the situation of the goalkeeper and the second goalkeeper is certainly being carefully considered Pavel Francouzin appearing at the finish line wouldn’t surprise anyone, even if it’s a dramatic change after all. There would be no return to Kuemper after that and if Francouz did not go, there could be complete chaos.
The three-minute rule
There is no need to incite any kind of panic in Coloado’s ranks, although Tampa’s victory will certainly sow the seeds of little doubt. The Grail cup was already at hand, but now one loss to Tampa would force the series to a stand-alone game in Denver. However, Colorado has shown the strength of its character during the spring.
It has never lost two games in a row, and the odds for it aren’t particularly small even now.
The team has been talking through the spring three-minute rule: whether it was a good or a bad match, the emotional state it causes can only marinate itself for three minutes. After that, the gaze must turn to the next match.
This is how Colorado still works and that’s why it’s improving its game with the Tampa Factory Warranty.
See all the goals for the fifth match in the video below. The sixth final will be played on Monday morning Finnish time. will broadcast the match live on TV2 and Arena from 3.00.