DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche swept the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-0 in Game Two of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday to advance 2-0 in the league series over the two-time champions.
He did so well that even Avalanche coach Jared Bednar had no real feedback on how to improve.
“It was definitely as close to perfect a match as you can get from your players,” Bednar said. “Coming out of the first game we were dangerous offensively, but I thought there was another step for our group. We evaluated that, showed them some things and they did a good job. On the defensive side we were better tonight. He wasn’t even close. I thought we made some big mistakes that It led to goals being scored in the first game. We have improved in those areas, among other things.”
It is not easy to score seven goals in every player in the world like Andrei Vasilevsky also. But Colorado got its number right from the start.
Valery Neshushkin The avalanche was rolling early in the first period with the aim of playing strength, and then Josh Manson I follow it with one timer after Vasilevskiy away from the rush. Andrei Burakovsky Colorado was leading 3-0 after the first 20 minutes. Shooting attempts favored Colorado 24-10.
In the second, Nisushkin was extending Colorado’s lead again, followed by a great solo effort by Darren Helm To make it 5-0.
Less than three minutes into the third period Cal Makar Added a brief target to the track. He added another on strong play to make it 7-0, becoming the fourth player in NHL history to score reductive goals and the man’s advantage in a Cup Final match. The others are Jordy Howe, Glenn Wesley And the Trevor Linden.
That kind of output would be impressive against any goalkeeper, let alone a Vezina Cup winner like Vasilevskiy. Bednar tried to keep the achievement in perspective with the overall Colorado game.
“The number of goals, I don’t get too excited [about]. “I think it has to do with the way we played,” he said. Things have to go right. He’s a good goalkeeper that you have to put pressure on. We fired really well tonight, created a lot of chances and our guys buried the chances we got. The guys were feeling it tonight.”
and how. Colorado has always preached the importance of not allowing Tampa Bay’s lineage to influence its approach. In Game 2, Avalanche won all fights, was better on the specials (2 vs 4 with the extra man, compared to Lightning’s 0 vs 3) and got a solid performance from the goalkeeper. Darcy Comber At 16 save shutter.
This was the lowest number of shots Tampa Bay has had in a playoff game this year. Not entirely surprising, considering how little acquisition time – around 28% – Lightning was able to grab a Colorado stifling attack for which they had no answers.
“[We are] “Hungry on the defensive side of things, trying to win as many races as possible, with as many fights as possible, getting past the pucks and making it hard,” Bednar said. This is part of who we are and who we are. Our guys have been doing this all year long and they continue to do so. Tonight, they did it better than we usually do.”
As good as Game 2 was, Colorado knows it was just one win.
“I feel like we played our identity to T tonight,” Makar said. “Obviously, we had some good goals. But at the end of the day, we know the next game is going to do their best. It’s always the next game that’s the hardest. It was a bit strange match tonight. We get chances but the guys were able to take advantage. Of it, that’s a good part.”
The avalanche suffered one setback on Saturday, when Burakovsky left the match midway through injury. Bednar had no update on his status after that, saying he still needed to be evaluated. Burakowski recently missed the Western Conference final due to a leg ailment, but he’s been an important part since his comeback, even scoring the overtime winner in the first game.
Fortunately for Colorado, it is not lacking in depth. And the avalanche will need everyone on board as the series moves to Tampa. Lightning trailed in the Eastern Conference final series by 2-0 to New York as well, then went home to win a pair and eventually topped Rangers in four straights to reach the cup final for the third time in a row.
Everyone knows it’s not over until it’s over. Bednar said he is confident his team will not get ahead of themselves.
It should be easy for us [going to Tampa]He said, “We don’t pay attention to the noise outside our locker room and we don’t care about it when [things being said] Good. Our team seems to be really focused, they’ve been called hungry and want to win, so they’re playing as hard as they can to get there. [goal]. “
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