Stanley Cup Final Game One: Working Overtime

7,676 days. That's how long it had been since the Colorado Avalanche last played in the Stanley Cup Final. That's how long Avalanche fans had been waiting to see their beloved team play for the hardest prize to win in pro sports: the Stanley Cup. In this go-around, the Avalanche had to go toe-to-toe with the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. For the Avs, they're looking to win their third Stanley Cup overall. For the Lightning, they're looking to win their third straight Stanley Cup--something no team has done in four decades.

The first period was quite wild. It was a good start for the Avs, they were up 3-1 in shots very early in the frame. Darcy Kuemper was in net for the Avs, his first start since Game One of the West Final against the Edmonton Oilers, and he was off to a quiet start. The Avalanche continued the pressure on Andrei Vasilevsky, and killed a Tampa Bay power play as well. Afterwards, at 7:47 into the opening period, they were rewarded. Mikko Rantanen's shot squirted past Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Gabriel Landeskog saw the puck and tapped it in, giving the Avs a 1-0 lead. Colorado wasn't finished--just over a minute and a half later, Nathan MacKinnon passes the puck to Valeri Nichushkin, and he puts it in to make it 2-0. A very surprising start for the Avs, but the Bolts got on the board quickly; Nicholas Paul (a name that still haunts Maple Leafs fans) put one in to cut their deficit in half. The assists came from Victor Hedman and Brayden Point--the latter making his first appearance since Game Seven against the Maple Leafs.

Tampa Bay pressed for a tie, but they wouldn't get it, and they started committing penalties of their own. The Avalanche went on their first power play, and it turned into a two-man advantage that they would score on. Artturi Lehkonen, the very player who put the Avs in the Final, tips one in past Vasilevskiy, and after 20 minutes, it's 3-1 in favor of Colorado. The second period saw the Avs get more chances, but Vasilevskiy seemed to get his familiar form back. Tampa Bay went on the power play again, but it was killed off; however, they would cash in afterwards. Ondrej Palat scored at 12:51 to cut their deficit in half, and just 48 seconds later, Mikhail Sergachev tied the game. Chances from both teams developed afterwards, but after 40 minutes, the score was dead even.

The third period started with good chances from the Avalanche, but as the period went by, it seemed like the Lightning were taking over. Kuemper stopped their chances, and even came through when the Bolts went on their third power play in the game. It was killed off, but Tampa Bay still appeared to have some momentum, until Pat Maroon (who is looking to win his fourth straight Stanley Cup) shot the puck over the glass. So with 1:24 left in regulation, the Avalanche received their third power play of the game and had a chance to put it away in regulation. The PP looked good at first, but trailed off, even giving Tampa Bay a bit of a shorthanded chance. It was stopped, and the game ended up going to overtime, with 36 seconds left on the Avalanche power play. The rest of the PP was killed off, but shortly afterwards, J.T. Compher's shot is stopped, Nichushkin gets the puck, passes it to Andre Burakovsky, who shoots it in to a wide open net!

The Avalanche won Game One, 4-3, in overtime, to strike first in this year's Stanley Cup Final. The team completes the Game One streak, they have won Game One in every series they've played in this year. After scoring first in every Division Semifinal game against the Nashville Predators, this was only the fourth time the Avalanche have scored first in the last 11 games played; Colorado is 3-1 in those four games, and 7-1 overall in the 2022 playoffs. The Avalanche improve to 4-1 in overtime in the 2022 playoffs, with a win in each of the four rounds. As for the Lightning, this was only their 2nd OT game of the 2022 playoffs, and their first loss, as well as their third straight OT loss in a Cup Final game dating back to 2020.

This was a good game overall, and as an Avalanche fan, I was very happy with how this team played for the most part. The first period went better than I expected, but the second was a letdown. The third was pretty decent, especially from Kuemper, and it was because of that good defense that the Avs had the chances and ended up putting it away in overtime. The Tampa Bay Lightning are back-to-back champions for a very good reason, and while Point only had one point in his first game back, he still provided a huge presence for the team.

Game Two is Saturday in Denver.

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