Tampa Bay and Colorado advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. And while the Lightning were, of course, among the top favorites before the playoffs began, the Avalanche were only among the contenders for the Finals from the West.
Let’s try to figure out what the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses were.
Third Finals in a row.
Tampa Bay has managed the unbelievable to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the third consecutive time in the modern NHL era with a salary cap and other restrictions. The Lightning have won the trophy twice, and now claim a unique achievement. Not since the 1980s, when the League was dominated by the New York Islanders, has anyone won three straight Stanley Cups.
Perhaps one of Tampa’s problems before the main confrontation could be fatigue. For the third year in a row, the team has had a very long season with a more or less stable roster, so the topic of fatigue could catch up with the Lightning at the most crucial moment. Admittedly, John Cooper’s team doesn’t have much of an injury problem right now. Forwards Brayden Point and Corey Perry are questionable.
Tampa Bay’s defense is very positive: Goaltender Vasilevskiy and the defensive line have allowed just one puck each in the last three games against the New York Rangers. Colorado’s much more potent and speedy offense, though, could be a serious challenge. The Lightning, as usual, have Kucherov, Stamkos and Palat dragging forward for the lion’s share of points. But you have to admit that Tampa is far from as productive in the current playoffs as it has been in the past. Only three times in this Stanley Cup series has the team scored five or more goals. Colorado, for example, has had six such games, including three times the Avalanche have allowed 7+ goals to their opponents.
I wonder if Tampa will be able to stiffen the potent Everlansh offense. One way or another, but Tampa, more experienced in such battles, is still considered the favorite.
It took a long time to get here.
Colorado hockey players haven’t played in a Stanley Cup Finals since 2001, and for the past decade, the club and team have been in some stagnation. Since 2017, the Avalanche have made the playoffs regularly, but have been unable to advance beyond the second round. Strong teams are often picked by management through the draft, but Colorado has only six players on its current roster selected in the draft. True, among them the key ones are Makar, McKinnon, Landeskog, Rantanen.
As has been said before, the main advantage of the Avalanche is the offense. Landeskog, McKinnon and Rantanen have combined for 52 points in the current playoffs. That said, the team’s top scorer is not the forward, but the defenseman. Cale Makar is having an incredible season, and after 86 points in the regular season he has already scored 22 points (5+17) in 14 playoff games. Tampa’s top offensive guard, Victor Hedman, has 12 points in 17 games. How to stop Makar is one of the big concerns of the Lightning coaching staff.
But where Tampa definitely has the edge is in the goaltending zone. Andrei Vasilevskiy is the Lightning’s number one and one of the league’s most reliable goaltenders. Colorado, on the other hand, had questions about their Darcy Camper-Paul Francoise crew during the season. Can we compete for the Cup with these keepers? Camper was the main man in the playoffs, but he was injured in the series against Edmonton. There were concerns about whether reserve Francoise could handle the Oilers’ attack, but there were no problems here. The goalie didn’t fail, and Colorado managed to make it to the finals. Camper has already recovered, but the Avalanche coaching staff has not yet decided who will be the main man in the finals. Any of the goal guards will face a tough task, and here the Evelanche definitely have less confidence in their abilities than in other aspects of the confrontation.
In the end, a slight preference will still be given to Tampa Bay, but Colorado has everything to make it as difficult as possible for the Lightning to take their third consecutive Stanley Cup.