Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche: Game One
Location: Ball Arena
Time: 8:00 PM EST
Broadcast/Streaming: ABC, CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN+
Opponent’s SBNation Site: Mile High Hockey
For the first time in several years (no offence to the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens) we’re getting the Stanley Cup that many fans have dreamt about. A showdown of two NHL heavyweights, two teams, which were considered as favorites before the start of the season and are arguably two of the best NHL teams in the recent years. The two teams, however, are entering this matchup in different positions — the Avs busted into the Stanley Cup losing just two games on their path and sweeping two opponents, while the Bolts (who also happened to sweep the Florida Panthers in the second round) faced probably more adversity than they did during their previous two Stanley Cup runs, managing to save two series, where they were close to be eliminated.
For the fourth time in a row this postseason, the Lightning don’t have a home ice advantage in the series, opening the Stanley Cup Final in Denver. Out of their four previous appearances in the final, the Lightning lost three times in Game 1, most recently against Dallas in 2020, but still ended up winning two of those three series. This postseason the Lightning lost two of their opening games, but as you can see that didn’t stop them to advance to the Stanley Cup final. On the road, the Lightning have a 5-4 record this year. Despite the Lightning’s ability to bounce back in the series, winning on the road would be pivotal for the team as getting out of 2-0 hole against the Avalanche would be extremely difficult. Meanwhile the Avs don’t seem unbeatable on the home ice, suffering both of their postseason losses there.
Brayden Point have been practicing with the team during the past week and seems to be ready for the final. He was mostly skating on the third line with Nick Paul and Ross Colton, switching positions from center to left wing. He also appeared on the first power play unit, during the last practice, which is another positive sign ahead of Game 1. Playing on the third line would lighten his usage, allowing him to adjust better to the game pace after missing two previous round due to the injury.
The Lightning’s coaching staff also didn’t want to break their two top lines, which worked out pretty effectively against the New York Rangers. The Anthony Cirelli line had been especially dominant in the previous round: shutting down the opponent with 66.67 CF% and 76.80 xGF at 5-on-5 and not allowing a single goal against. The line was also pretty good at creating offence off of cycle and forecheck possessions with all three members being in the top-5 in this category in the third round.
Which forwards created the most offence off of cycle and forecheck possessions at 5v5 in the 3rd round?
Data from AllThreeZones pic.twitter.com/927O7ZxmFw
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 14, 2022
After yesterday’s practice Jon Cooper also confirmed that there’s a chance that Brayden Point will be in the line-up for Game 1.
Jon Cooper said there’s a chance Brayden Point plays Game 1, and it’s leaning that direction. If not anticipate Game 2
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) June 14, 2022
Brandon Hagel and Corey Perry alternately missed two of the previous practices, but it seemed like a body maintenance day for them. In their absence, Riley Nash skated as a replacement on their lines, meaning that if everyone are healthy, the Bolts are returning to the forward core, which started this postseason more than one month ago.
Speaking with the media on Tuesday, the Avalanche GM Joe Sakic confirmed that their goaltender Darcy Kuemper is 100 percent healthy, so we can expect him to start the final series against the Lightning. Kuemper opened a Stanley Cup campaign for the Avalanche as a starting goalie, but suffered an injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference final against the Edmonton Oilers, missing the rest of the series. Pavel Francouz replaced him in the net, winning the remaining three games against Edmonton. Despite recording six wins each, both Francouz and Kuemper hadn’t been very sharp this playoffs. According to Evolving-Hockey, both of them are negative in goals saved above expected even with the Avalanche facing just 1.97 xGA/60 at 5-on-5 — the lowest number amongst the NHL teams participating in this year’s playoffs. The goaltending is the biggest Colorado’s weakness so far and with Andrei Vasilevskiy the Bolts have their ace in a hole.
Tampa Bay Lightning Potential Lines
Forwards
Ondrej Palat — Steven Stamkos — Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Alex Killorn
Nick Paul — Ross Colton — Brayden Point
Patrick Maroon — Riley Nash — Corey Perry
Defense
Victor Hedman — Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev — Zach Bogosian
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Colorado Avalanche Potential Lines
Forwards
Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Artturi Lehkonen — Valeri Nichushkin — Andre Burakovksy
Alex Newhook — JT Compher — Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Andrew Cogliano — Darren Helm — Logan O’Connor
Defense
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Jack Johnson — Josh Manson
Bowen Byram — Erik Johnson
Goaltenders
Darcy Kuemper
Pavel Francouz
