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What to know for the best Stanley Cup final matchup in years

June 15, 2022
431 3 minutes read
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The matchup is a sell-out. The most exciting hockey team takes on a team looking to win the Stanley Cup third-peat for the first time in 40 years. Here’s a brief primer for the heavyweight clash between the Tampa Bay Lightning & the Colorado Avalanche. It opens Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET in Denver, and can be viewed live via the CBC TV Network, CBCSports.ca or the CBC Sports app:

This is Tampa Bay’s most difficult final opponent.

While Dallas and Montreal were hard-fought to reach the 2020 and 21 finals, those teams caught lightning (if it wasn’t the Lightning) in a bottle. Both teams missed the playoffs in the following year and the Canadiens were the worst league team this season. After winning the Presidents’ Trophy last year, Colorado is a legitimate force and has posted the second best record in the NHL this year. After sweeping through an inept set of opponents, the Avalanche dominated the regular season scoring charts. They average 4.64 goals per games and were among the top-scoring teams. They swept both Nashville (in the first round) and Edmonton (in the Western Conference final), with a six-game victory over St. Louis sandwiched in between.
The Lightning took a more difficult road. They were just one goal away from being eliminated in Game 6 vs. Toronto, but they survived that game and won a one-goal Game 7. The Lightning then swept Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida before rallying from down two games to none to the Rangers in the Eastern Conference final to win four in a row and advance to their third straight championship series. If they win, the Bolts would become the first team since 1980 to win three consecutive Cups.

The betting markets predict that the Avs, who are more dominant-looking, will end the Lightning dynasty (if it can be called that yet). The series odds show that Colorado has a 60% chance of winning its first Cup since 2001 when the Avs’ current GM Joe Sakic led them to their second championship.

Both sides have some great players.

Two of the best forwards in the sport are from Colorado, Nathan MacKinnon, and Tampa Bay’s Nikitakucherov. Both are producing like superstars in these playoffs. MacKinnon has scored 11 goals over 14 games, while Kucherov has 23 in 17 contests. Mikko Rantanen is a less-known key for the Avalanche. Although he scored 36 goals during the regular season, he was slumping in playoffs and then scored a goal each of the four games against Edmonton.

On the blue-line, there’s a marquee matchup between Victor Hedman of Tampa, a veteran who won the Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe in 2018, and Cale Makar of Colorado, the young, electrifying defenceman who seems destined to be the next great player in the game (if he’s not already). Makar, 23, is the betting favourite for the Conn Smythe title of playoff MVP. He has scored 22 points in 14 games during the first three rounds. Andrei Vasilevskiy, the 2021 ConnSmythe and 2019 Vezina winner, is Makar’s closest rival. He has a sparkling.928 save ratio in this year’s playoffs. He has also made numerous clutch stops.

We are also experiencing a Stamkosaissance. After being injured twice, 32-year old Lightning captain Steven Stamkos led Tampa with 42 goals in this season before adding nine more in the playoffs.

Both teams hope that an injured star will be returned.

Brayden, the Tampa Bay forward, was injured in Game 7 vs. Toronto. He missed the previous round. It’s “extremely probable” he returns at some point in this series, according to coach Jon Cooper, and Point was a full participant in Monday’s practice. However, Game 1 status was still uncertain at the time we published this article.

After Evander Kane’s miss in Game 3 of Western Conference final, Colorado’s Nazemkadri hopes to be back. Kadri was injured in his thumb and had to have surgery. However, he is back skating with the team. Kadri wasn’t ruled out of Game 1 of the final at the time we published this.

SourceCBC Sports

June 15, 2022
431 3 minutes read