DENVER — To knock out two defending champions It will take more time.
Tampa Bay Lightning fought another day after defeating Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. However, given that it's still below 3-2 in the Best of Seven series, the odds remain stuck after completing 3 petes.
Game 6 will be held in Tampa on Sunday and Colorado has a chance to win everything. But don't be surprised if Lightning gets another performance like this from goaltenders Andrey Vasilevsky and Ondrey Palat, and if this works.
"It's impressive what hockey players are doing at this time of the year," said Lightning Head Coach John Cooper. "We were very fortunate to be able to do this for the third year in a row ... excitement and thrills, and everything is better than everything. But there are times when we're happy with this."
It's not over yet. It's not the way Tampa Bay reacted on Friday.
In the face of exclusion, Lightning came out attacking in the first period. They knew they had dug a fairly deep hole by losing three of the first four games. But they also knew they hadn't won consecutive championships due to the fluke.
Lightning went down to the Rangers 2-0 in the East Final and scored a goal from being knocked out of the first round to Maple Reefs in Game 6. Every time they did their best when it was most important.
Jan Rutta recorded his first playoff with a slap shot that Darcy Kuemper should have stopped. Sliding his wings, the weak defenseman got all the shots that seemed to trick the goalkeeper of the avalanche.
In a fierce battle, my only goal was to have three power plays, a breakaway, and too many blocked shots to count. Nathan McKinnon had the best chance in Colorado when he jumped alone, but his forehand deck grew shortly after sliding under the Vasilevsky pad.
In the second period, the avalanche tied the game with yet another goal from playoff hero Valeri Nichushkin. Again, that wasn't the most beautiful goal. It's this time of the year, but it's rare. With a shot from Vasilevskiy hand-locked by Cale Makar, he hit the puck against Nichushkin's waiting stick and pushed it in for the ninth goal of the playoff and the fourth goal of the series.
A tripping penalty from Macar gave Lightning a 4 to 3 man advantage after Colorado and Tampa Bay caught an accidental underage. That was all it took their power play to find the groove, and Nikita Kucherov blasted the one-time to lead Tampa Bay 2-1 at 8:10 in the middle frame.
From there, the team put hope and prayer into the hands of Vasilevsky.
Lightning goalkeeper wasn't his best in this final. But he always seems to be doing his best for these moments.
It is impossible to count all the stops he made in the last 12 minutes of the second period. There was a break away save in Macar. Blockers save one timer from MacKinnon. And it was just during Colorado's power play.
Third, the avalanche somehow found another gear and tied the game early in the period.
This time, it was Macar that was great in all the playoffs. And once again, it was another pinball-type shot that jumped over skating, body, and everything else the hockey gods were cooking in the arena on Friday night.
It's not that the avalanche wasn't worth it. Sensing how close they were to glory, they put Lightning on their heels, as they saw in most of this series. It wasn't just the speed of Colorado. It was their attack.
Still, Tampa Bay didn't stop and couldn't collapse without a fight.
With 6:22 left in the third period, Lightning regained the lead in one time from Palato. Palat, who stood alone in the slot, got a pass from Victor Hedman only once, but Kuemper got it, but sneaked over the goal line. This is the 11th playoff. And for those they call credible, it wouldn't have come at a better time.
Too many male penalties for the dying minutes have crushed the chances of a comeback. Now, the question is whether Tampa Bay can return to the series that many have already written down based on this victory.
mtraikos@postmedia.com
twitter.com/Michael_Traikos
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