(Denver) Ondrej Palat gave the lightning another day as the Tampa Bay team defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 Friday night in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Posted yesterday at 11:16 PM.
You’d think both teams would head to a second extension in a row, but Balat was forgotten in the hole and cheated guard Darcy Comber with 6:22 to go in the final third.
Balat took advantage of the lack of communication between Cal Makar and Valery Neshushkin to accept a pass from Victor Hedman and score 11e The goal of the series, including his third victor.
Two-time Stanley Cup champions Lightning cut their lead to 3-2 in this final and will have the chance to meet their fans for the last time this season on Sunday night.
Jan Rutta and Nikita Kucherov also moved the ropes for Lightning, who lost in a somewhat controversial fashion, Wednesday night. Mikhail Sergeachev and Corey Berry shared their two successes.
Andrei Vasilevskiy once again did his best to protect the progress of his team. The 2021 Conn-Smythe Trophy winner demonstrated his worth by blocking 35 of the 37 discs he targeted.
Makar and Nesushkin’s mistake came to spoil the good performance on their part. Both players finished the match with one goal and one pass each. However, the avalanche must wait at least two more days before lifting the first Stanley Cup since 2001.
Comber allowed three goals on 29 shots, but it was mostly Rota who was injured when the disc moved between his body and his left arm.
On the roller coaster
Kuemper and Vasilevskiy exchanged some great saves in the first half, especially when their teams had to play reductively. However, it was lightning that managed to open the recording.
After Sergachev thwarted the avalanche’s attack, he handed the disc to Perry, who spotted Rota alone on the flank in the neutral zone. Rota made use of a lot of space in front of him, and once he reached enemy territory, he unleashed a fracture that Kuemper would definitely like to see again.
Despite everything, the home team increased the pressure late in the first half, but they were unable to equalize. Lightning’s defense was overpowered, but they were able to block shots when there was traffic in front of the net. Then, in a partial break, Nathan McKinnon slipped the ball between Vasilevsky’s pads, but off target. Then Gabriel Landskog tripped over the left shoulder of the Russian goalkeeper.
Lightning was very active coming back from the break, but the Colorado team tied the game at 5:07. McKinnon won an offense in attack zone and Makar fired a floating shot that Vasilevsky didn’t see well. Nichushkin finished his movement on the net and was able to freely drive behind the red line.
The visiting team regained its lead with one goal, after only three minutes of a strong match. After defender Josh Manson had a big presence by blocking three shots, Kucherov fired one from the point that crept past Kuemper, whose sight was blocked by Berry.
Avalanche also had a strong role in the late second period, but despite a number of scoring opportunities, the score remained unchanged. Makar remarkably made a stunning climb between three Lightning players, but his shot went over the net. Mikko Rantanen could have equalized the match as well, but his shot missed the target.
Due to the noise of the crowd, the Avalanche players did not lack intensity in the first minutes of the third half and their efforts paid off. Hopefully Makar’s point shot was blocked by Vasilevsky, but it touched the skate of Eric Cernak, who was covering Nesushkin, and the ball found its way between the goalkeeper’s pads.
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