Avalanche dethrone Lightning to win 1st Stanley Cup in 21 years

Nathan MacKinnon couldn’t find the words. Gabriel Landeskog cracked both a smile, and a joke.

After years of playoff disappointments the Colorado Avalanche are back at the top of hockey’s mountain, having defeated the two-time champions.

Cale Makar, playoff MVP-winning defenceman, said that “it was all leading up” saidAbout the Avalanche’s journey.

It’s the first title for this core group led by MacKinnon, captain Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Makar and it follows several early postseason exits — in the second round each of the past three seasons and the first in 2018.

MacKinnon: “It feels incredible.” said. “Some difficult years were mixed in there, however it’s all over now. We never stopped believing.”

WATCH: Avalanche captain Landeskog is presented with the Stanley Cup

With a mix of speed, high-end talent and the experiences gained from those defeats, Colorado broke through this time — earning every bit of the championship by knocking off the team that hoisted the Cup the past two years. It wasn’t an easy task, as the Avalanche knew.

After Makar’s turnover led to Steven Stamkos scoring, which put them in a hole. The Avalanche tied the game when MacKinnon defeated Andrei Vasilevskiy (2021 playoff MVP). With a near-perfect shot, MacKinnon scored another big goal. Artturi Lehkonen was acquired as a trade deadline acquisition. They held on to the puck and did not allow Tampa Bay to shoot the puck on Darcy Kuemper during the third period.

WATCH l Lehkonen scores Stanley Cup-winning goal:

Lehkonen’s winner lifts Avalanche into the 3rd Stanley Cup title in franchise History

Colorado wins Game 6 3-2 to defeat Tampa Bay, the two-time defending champions. They claim their first Stanley Cup in 21 Years.

He was there when they needed him. Kuemper was traded from Arizona to strengthen the sport’s most important position. He was solid again, and made his most important save with just seven minutes left. He slid over to deny Nikita Kucherov.

His team completed the job.

“This group is simply amazing”

Landeskog: “That’s 20 years of just dreaming, wanting, and working for it, and finally coming to fruition after many crazy years.” said. “This group is just incredible, from the top to the third massage therapist to our wives to the fans and everyone in Ball [Arena] right now. It’s incredible.

Similar to the Lightning, who traded multiple draft picks and prospects multiple times to maximize their chances of winning the Cup, the Avalanche general manger Joe Sakic did not hesitate to ante up in March in order to acquire Lehkonen and defenceman Josh Manson as well as veteran forward Andrew Cogliano. They were the perfect complement for Colorado’s core team, which had displayed plenty of playoff promise, but hadn’t yet produced a championship.

Sakic, who was the captain of Colorado’s first title-winning teams in 1996, and 2001, used a familiar formula to get his team past the hump. Sakic was a model of Pierre Lacroix, who was the architect for the Avalanche teams which had so much success in Denver. He valued speed, versatility, and skill.

The speed of the team swept all opponents, including Nashville. It continued with a six-game series against St. Louis. A sweep of Edmonton followed by Tampa Bay. This sweep prevented elimination once but left the team two wins short of becoming NHL’s first threepeat champions since 1980s New York Islanders dynasty.

Makar stated, “They’re looking to become a Dynasty.” said. “We are a team that wants to leave a legacy.”

The Avalanche’s legacy now includes a championship. This is thanks in large part Jared Bednar who, in his sixth season, found a way of keeping his team focused from the start. This mentality helped the Avalanche overcome their hump and Bednar became the first coach ever to win the Stanley Cup.

Bednar beat Jon Cooper to win the chess match. Cooper is also a Stanley and Calder Cup winner and is known for being one of the NHL’s best tacticians. The Lightning were facing stiff competition, their most difficult challenge since 2020, when their run of success began.

Landeskog was asked how other teams could replicate the success of the Avalanche. He replied, “Get a Cale Makar.”

Injuries that sidelined top centre Brayden Point and limited other key contributors proved too much against a stacked opponent built to withstand just about anything. Depth allowed the Avalanche to overcome losing defenceman Samuel Girard to a broken sternum and finish off the Lightning without Cup Final Game 1 overtime Andre Burakovsky sidelined by injury and with standout winger Valeri Nichushkin hobbling around on an injured right foot and centre Nazem playing through a broken right thumb.

Before attrition could take too many tolls and before the frightening possibility of being eliminated in Game 7, the Avalanche defeated the Lightning. Instead, they’ll celebrate with the Stanley Cup in Denver.

While not as emotional as the past two years when Stamkos got the trophy, Colorado’s series-ending victory marks another completion of an NHL season during a pandemic — the first back to 82 games with a normal playoff format since 2019. It was not without its stumbles, including postponing dozens of games and pulling out of the Olympics — and Commissioner Gary Bettman wasn’t even able to hand the Cup to Landeskog because he tested positive for the coronavirus, leaving deputy Bill Daly to do the honors.

The Lightning and Avalanche had to deal with sometimes rough ice conditions late in June. This should not happen again as the league returns to its regular schedule. Colorado will be able to defend its championship and try to follow Tampa Bay in becoming a perennial Cup contender.