2022 Stanley Cup Final – Best Moments, Scenes & Breakdown from Tampa Bay Lightning-Colorado Avalanche Game 5

Advertisement

2022 Stanley Cup Final - Best Moments, Scenes & Breakdown from Tampa Bay Lightning-Colorado Avalanche Game 5

The Stanley Cup is in the building. The Colorado Avalanche leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Avs could end the streak and keep the trophy in the building in Game 5 on Friday.

Game 4, which ended in a 3-2 overtime win in Colorado, was not without controversy. Video replay appeared to show Colorado had too many men on the ice when Nazem Kadri scored the winning goal.

Now two-time defending champion Lightning is on the ropes and the Avalanche are poised to win their first trophy since 2001.

Here are the best scenes from Game 5.

Tampa is not finished yet

Ondrej Palat isn’t ready to give up just yet as he silenced the Colorado crowd with a go-ahead goal late in the third game.

Avs tie it

A terrible break for the Lightning as one sneaks past Vasilevskiy to level the game 2-2. Cale Makar is the one credited with the goal.

Avalanche takeaways of the second period

Cale Makar couldn’t help but look at the sky.

Ondrej Palat had just tripped over his stick and fallen onto the ice, which was assessed as a trip penalty on Makar. The teams were already playing 4-on-4 after JT Compher was assessed a late hold of the racquet penalty and after Alex Killorn had already been called to the hold.

Nikita Kucherov scored on the ensuing Lightning power play, which was only Tampa Bay’s second man-overshoot goal in the Cup Finals.

Considering Makar is one of Colorado’s best penalty killers, this wasn’t an entirely shocking development.

It was one of a few no calls that didn’t favor Colorado in the second. Pat Maroon was not penalized for throwing Nathan MacKinnon onto the ice, and a trip to Tampa Bay went unannounced before the official.

Then there was no delay in the game call when Nick Paul shot the puck out of play on a shorthanded clearance attempt.

So far, the margin for error in the game is wafer-thin with the same strength, so that the fight of the special teams is – and will continue to be – in the foreground. – Kristen Shilton

Lightning fast takeaways for the second period

No-touch icing has its benefits, like saving players from catastrophic collisions with endboards. It also has its downsides, as the linesman makes a judgment as to which player would theoretically touch the puck first during a chase between opponents. The Flash was burned by the latter in the second period as it looked like Nick Paul was in position to touch the puck, but the linesman whistled icing on the cake. That led to a faceoff at the other end of the ice, which then led to Valeri Nichushkin’s decisive goal.

But officials take and give. With teams playing 4v4 after holding penalties, Cale Makar was called upon for a rather flimsy trip penalty to set up a 4v3 overtime play. If the Lightning ever scored with man advantage, it would be here, and Nikita Kucherov netted his eighth playoff win, 8-10. It was just the second power play goal for the Lightning in 17 attempts of the streak.

The icing on the cake aside, the Lightning have the advantage of acting in Game 5. Which conspiracy theory wins: that the NHL “wants” a Game 6 or that Jon Cooper’s protest over too many men missing on the ice penalty at the end of Game 4 influenced the officiating in Game 5?

In any case, the Lightning are 20 minutes away from keeping the three-peat alive. – Greg Wyshynski

Tampa strikes back

The Lightning don’t want that streak to end tonight as Nikita Kucherov puts Tampa Bay ahead again with a power play goal.

All tied up

A little confusion in front of the Lightning goal resulted in an Avalanche score, this time from Valeri Nichushkin.

Friends watch hockey together

Former Denver Broncos teammates and longtime friends Von Miller and Brandon McManus took part in the Stanley Cup action rinkside.

Lightning-fast takeaways for the first hour

The Lightning identified the first 10 minutes of Game 5 as absolutely crucial.

“They feed off those first 5-10 minutes and you really have to focus on your game because that’s when they gain momentum,” said coach Jon Cooper.

The good news for the Lightning was that unlike their first two games in Denver, they weren’t down by several goals midway through the opening period. The bad news is that they spent 40% of those minutes on the power play and had nothing to show as they only managed two shots on target.

The best news: They scored the first goal at 15:21 of the first period when Jan Rutta defeated Darcy Kuemper cleanly. Aside from the good opening 10 minutes, the Lightning also talked about how a lead would allow them to get their game and let Colorado lag a little. Given Colorado’s endurance advantage at this point in the postseason, that’s essential. – Greg Wyshynski

Avalanche takeaways for the first hour

Colorado’s special teams made it big in the first period.

Tampa Bay drew two penalties in the first 10 minutes, forcing quick responses from the Avalanche’s aggressive penalty. Colorado excelled in all series when shorthanded, and that continued as the Lightning fell to 1-17 with the extra man in that cup final.

The frame’s Avalanche’s lone power play attempt provided some great looks for Andrei Vasilevskiy, but couldn’t beat the Big Cat.

While no one drew blood on powerplays, a frame full of special teams probably wasn’t the start anyone wanted for a potential Stanley Cup clinch game. The nervousness was evident on both sides with poor passes and poor shot attempts. A couple of times, the Avalanche were caught being too sweet with the puck, on 5v5 and on the power play, which is a dangerous play against the opportunistic Lightning.

In this series, the first period was often a trial and error before the back-and-forth really got going. Already in the last two minutes the pace increased significantly. Let’s see if this continues in the second. – Kristen Shilton

Another early lead for Tampa

A small surprise goal from the Lightning when Jan Rutta sneaked in one of Darcy Kuemper’s defense.

Bring your fans with you

Tampa Bay had a very special celebration section for them in a noisy ball arena.

appearance before the game

The Avalanche walked into the arena with stylish looks in front of neon lights, while the Lightning looked bright and upbeat despite being behind.

The cup is rested and ready

You May Also Like
Remember Courteney Cox, Take A Deep Breath Before You See What She Looks Like Now
Tom Cruise Is 59, Take A Look At Her Net Worth