“Let’s get back home in front of our fans, and let’s see what we’re made of.” — Steven Stamkos
TAMPA – Given an extra off-day, a bonus 24 hours to pore over video and analyze this steep challenge, Jon Cooper concedes he might have studied the Colorado Avalanche too intently between Game 1’s overtime loss and Game 2’s shellacking.
So concerned about preventing danger were the Tampa Bay Lightning, they didn’t create any themselves.
“You probably focus maybe a little too much on the opponent, and maybe you’ve got to circle back and focus a little bit more on yourself. Why are you in this situation and what put you in this situation?” Coach Cooper said.
“That’s something we have to do. We really can’t control what they’re doing at all. We have to control what we’re going to do, and we just haven’t done that.
“If we want to get back into this, we need to focus on us.”
The chessboard for this best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final has been moved to Tampa, where the two-time defending champions will either secure their eighth straight home win in these playoffs or plow themselves into a 0-3 hole on Monday (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Sportsnet).
“We’re in the same situation as we were against the Rangers going home 0-2 (in the Eastern Conference Final). And we found a way to win Game 3 at the end of the game there,” said Corey Perry, who risks losing three consecutive Cup Finals wearing three different sweaters. “It rejuvenated us. It got us going again.”
Only one side has been going thus far.
So, how do the Bolts possibly turn this sucker around?
Win the first period, for starters.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (an encouraging 7-1 at Amalie Arena) allowed three first-period goals in each of the first two games, forcing the Lightning to pinch and force plays in an effort to rally.
Risky hockey is losing hockey against these Avs. Tampa must strike first to reach its identity.
“It’d be nice to make these guys chase a game for once,” Cooper said.
The Lightning are 9-2 when scoring first in the playoffs. And Colorado’s lone regulation loss in the post-season came in Game 2 of Round 2, when the St. Louis built a 2-0 lead.
This will be easier said than done, as the Avalanche come flying out the gates. Colorado’s plus-12 goal differential in the opening 20 minutes makes that its most dominant period.
Staying out of the penalty box and winning the special-teams contest would go a long way, too.
Colorado has forced Tampa into a pair of panicky puck-over-glass infractions, and the Lightning are minus-1 on their own power play, thanks to a Cale Makar shorthanded goal.
And then there is simply a matter of grinding harder against a fleet and determined foe. Win a few battles and races, and Tampa might get some zone time against an underworked Darcy Kuemper.
“Well, we haven’t played with the puck a lot,” Perry said, bluntly.
Added Nick Paul: “Every person just has to look themselves in the mirror and win every single battle next game.”
Or else…
War of attrition
Colorado’s Nazem Kadri’s great progress had been holding a stick with a surgically repaired thumb. Andrew Cogliano returned in Game 2 with a piece of metal in his finger. Andre Burakovsky wasn’t in Tampa on Monday morning because he was undergoing evaluation on a suspected hand injury. And Gabriel Landeskog needed a morning skate off for maintenance.
On the Tampa side, stud forward Brayden Point also needed a morning off and has slipped to “game-time decision” status after playing his first two games since nursing a lower-body injury for a month. Point has not looked like himself upon return.
Both of Steven Stamkos’s knees were wrapped as he gave his post-game interview, Brandon Hagel is recovering from an illness, and Victor Hedman hasn’t been effective since taking a cheap shot to the head from Alexis Lafreniere in the Rangers series.
“The toll is taken in the playoffs,” Cooper said. “And the shot blocking, the groins, the hips, the cuts, the bruises, playing every second night — that’s the toll. And so when you get to the end, even though it doesn’t look like they’re banged up, they’re missing guys, we’re missing guys. We’ve got banged-up guys. That’s what the playoff toll does.”
So, how does a coach draw the line between gutting it out and sitting him down?
“The game is not worth it to put someone in some sort of risk,” Cooper said. “Now, there are situations where if a player can’t injure himself anymore, like it’s a pain thing, now you are probably playing the player.
“I haven’t had a player yet ever say he was in too much pain, ‘I can’t go in.’ But the big thing is, can a player reinjure himself? If that is the case, you are walking the delicate line of probably not playing the player.”
Kuemper in control
To say Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper is stealing the show isn’t accurate, but he’s been steady since returning from the upper-body injury he suffered in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers.
Many observers were wondering how Kuemper would play after the extended layoff, but after enduring a couple of wobbly moments in the series opener on Wednesday, he responded with a 16-save shutout.
That helped push Kuemper’s save percentage to .901 for his 12 appearances in these playoffs (including two early departures due to injury) and lowered his goals-against average to 2.45.
While much of the goalie chatter is surrounding Vasilevskiy so far, Kuemper is doing his part between the pipes.
“Yeah, I think he’s done a nice job,” said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. “I mean, kind of mentioned it after Game 1, I was pleased with his game. I don’t think it was his best game I’ve seen him play, but I was pleased with it. I think that was partly expected. He hadn’t played for the better part of three weeks. I thought he was better in game 2.
“We didn’t give up a lot but when he got some dangerous looks at it, he handled them great. I think he’s going to get more confident as he stays in that gear. He’s been working hard in practices, staying sharp and detailed. Maybe he’ll work as well to kind of help his game and know what to expect. I expect him to be strong.”
Helm paying a physical price
Speaking of strong, Avalanche centre Darren Helm has been a body-checking machine during the Stanley Cup Final, recording 10 hits in the opener and another 12 in Game 2, where he also scored a goal in the 7-0 victory.
Helm has been thriving in an elevated role, bumping up to the third line with Kadri still sidelined with a broken right thumb.
“He’s invaluable for us,” said Bednar. “If you look throughout our lineup and you pick one guy that has elevated his game the most into the playoffs and has been as consistent as you could possibly be having an impact every single night (it’s him). I would say to be fair, average regular season for him and just like a whole different level for us come playoff time, in a bunch of different ways.”
Helm won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings as a rookie in 2008 and went back to the Final in 2009, losing in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he understands the importance of having depth players chipping in.
“I mean, I know my responsibility. Guys I’m playing with, my role, so just sticking with that, building off positives. Forecheck, physical, good defensive plays, just building off those things. Just helping (out) along the way,” said Helm. “In the playoffs, I feel everyone elevates their game. Not a surprise for 40 guys out there to be playing better than they usually do in the regular season, so it’s a good challenge. It’s fun.
“I think it’s just a little bit easier to play when there’s that Cup at stake. Everyone says it’s the most exciting time of the year and it is, and that just gets me motivated and want to play even harder. I think when the other guys are stepping up their game as well, it’s an easier job for you to be pushing yourself.”
Those depth pieces have played a vital role as the Avalanche improved to 14-2 overall and took a 2-0 lead in this series.
“That’s what this time is all about,” said Landeskog. “I think storylines going into series, that’s you guys making those up. We’ve talked about it all along how important our depth is. We’ve talked about it in the regular season. Our depth is what’s going to separate us from other teams and what’s going to push us moving forward.
“Guys have stepped up, just like (Helm) said. Everybody’s elevated their game. When top lines kind of cancel each other out, we believe we have a real good chance of winning hockey games. You never know with our team who is going to step up on a nightly basis, but it’s always somebody.”
The lineups
Here’s how both teams are expected to start tonight:
Colorado Avalanche
Gabe Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Valeri Nichushkin
Artturi Lehkonen-J.T. Compher-Mikko Rantanen
Andrew Cogliano-Darren Helm-Logan O’Connor
Alex Newhook-Nico Sturm-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Devon Toews-Cale Makar
Jack Johnson-Josh Manson
Bowen Byram-Erik Johnson
Darcy Kuemper
Pavel Francouz
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ondrej Palat-Steven Stamkos-Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel-Anthony Cirelli-Alex Killorn
Ross Colton-Nick Paul-Brayden Point
Pat Maroon-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Corey Perry
Victor Hedman-Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh-Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev-Zach Bogosgian
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
