Dominic Moore is unsure if the Lightning have a chance to get back into the series. It was 0: 53. Steven Stamkos had a dark circle under his eyes as he answered questions. He looked ahead. He wouldn't look behind him at the mess that was created during the second game of the Stanley Cup Final. The people are going to be watching the game and think the series is over. There is a loss in the playoffs. "We need to man up as a team and as a person." Let's go home and see what our fans make of us. In the second game of the series, the Avs scored seven times to take a 2-0 advantage. In the first period, the game was over. The only uncertainty was when the fans would start singing. Is it a bad thing to lose a game like that? It's for certain. It's not something we're used to. Jon Cooper said that it does not happen to them. The back-to-back Stanley Cup winners aren't unbeatable. They won four straight games after falling behind the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals. The Rangers are not the Avs. The proof of concept offered in the second game gave the team confidence. There was nothing close to that in the second game of the series. The situation is the same as when we played the Rangers. "We found a way to win at the end of the game there, and that's all I can say." We were rejuvenated by it. It made us want to go again. The Colorado team looked faster and stronger and played as close to perfect of a game as you can get from your players. The Lightning have lacked in execution and results. This is the way to go if they are going to rally. The Bolts need five things to go right in order to win a third straight Stanley Cup. When a balloon gets punctured, it can do that thing where it's chaotically propelled around the room until it's completely deflated. That was the beginning of the second game of the series. The things looked promising. The Avs caused a couple of turnovers back in the Lightning's own zone and the Bolts' Ryan McDonagh took a hooking penalty in the first period. It was not Disciplined by me. It's never a good idea to give a team a power play in the beginning. You're flirting with disaster whenever you do that. It was not a good time to start. The bad start in Game 1 followed a bad start in the previous game. There are two teams in the Stanley Cup final. All seven games can be watched on ABC, Disney+, and the app. The first game was a 4-3 overtime win by the Avs.
Game 2: Avalanche 7, Lightning 0
Game 3: Monday, 8 p.m. ET (@ TB)
Game 4: June 22, 8 p.m. ET (@ TB)
Game 5*: June 24, 8 p.m. ET (@ COL)
Game 6*: June 26, 8 p.m. ET (@ TB)
Game 7*: June 28, 8 p.m. ET (@ COL)
No more terrible starts
It's possible that it's necessary.
"We have to execute better from the start of the game and try to carry that through the show," he said before Game 2.
They were the ones to carry it through after the Avs jumped out to a big lead in the second game.
Did we do a good job of handling that? It's probably not. You guys are watching the game. "After that, it was all downhill."
The fast starts in the first two Stanley Cup Final games are not much of a surprise since the Avs were tied for second in goals and fifth in goals allowed at home. In the first period at home, the Lightning are better defensively than on the road.
It's important that the start is good. Something to build on is what the lightning needs. When they lead after the first period, they are 6-1 in the playoffs. When they score first, they are 9-2. With a strong opening 20 minutes or a competent 10 minutes, they can find the confidence they are looking for.
The 16 shots on goal by the Lightning were their lowest total in the playoffs since they had 15 shots on goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second-round.
We need to get shots on the net. Nick Paul said that they couldn't score if they weren't getting any shots.
If you don't have the puck, you won't get any shots.
In seven of their 19 playoff games, the Bolts failed to get at least one even-strength shot. The two games in Denver are included. It was no surprise that Game 2 was the worst game of the season for the possession team, as they generated the lowest percentage of shot attempts of any regular season or playoffs game.
The lightning is not a possession machine. In the regular season, they were 12th in percentage of shot attempts. They had possession of the puck at 5-on-5. They won four in a row against Florida without having a shot- attempt advantage.
Colorado is the best goal- scoring team the NHL has seen since 1985 and they don't have that luxury against them. The speed of the Colorado Avs has been the biggest difference-maker in the series.
Stamkos said that they need to find a way to slow them down. One of the things we do is put the pucks in areas where they can't turn it over. I thought we did not give them free stuff in the second game. There is a plan in place to try and slow them down.
Getting offensive chances is one way to control the puck. In the shot attempt heat map for Game 2, the Avalanche looked like the surface of the sun, while the Lightning dripped some of a melting lime popsicle.
What. LOL pic.twitter.com/2N49i6yDCu
— Blais (@BlaisHunter) June 19, 2022
In the second game, Kuemper had 16 saves. None was special. Kuemper looked like the potential liability many felt he was before the series when the Lightning rallied to force overtime and made him look like a liability.
The puck possession problem begins on a micro level, according to the Lightning.
Everyone has to look themselves in the mirror and win their next game. This one has to be swallowed. We have to let it go. Paul said that they have to figure out how to win battles. The game swayed when we started turning the puck over and giving them opportunities.
Don't let the battles go to waste. Don't lose the puck. Is it possible to win a game in this series?
When competing to the best of its abilities, a champion's psychology is that it can win in any situation. All champion believe that their opponents need to be respected.
If you listened to the first two games of the series, you might have heard the Lightning pay too much respect to the Colorado team.
It's not you, it's me.
It's possible that you focus too much on the opponent and not enough on yourself. Cooper asked why you were in this situation and what made you in it. We need to do that. We don't know what they're doing. We need to control what we do, but we haven't done that yet.
It's been used by the Lightning for a long time. They were able to climb out of the hole against the Rangers when they adjusted their lineup and focused on their turnovers. The puck was taken care of by them. They worked hard to get their chance.
After losing to the Rangers in the first two games, the Lightning won four in a row to win the Stanley Cup. They haven't been against the Colorado team yet.
Stamkos said that there were a lot of things that were atypical of their group. They need to be given credit. There is a fine line between respecting your opponent and being too respectful to your opponent. We need to realize that we got here because of something. We know that they have an amazing team over there with great skill at every position, but so do we. We're going to find out what we're made of when we come home.
The past 11 playoff series victories that the Lightning have had can define this comeback.
We have a group that has been able to respond. There's no question that I was disappointed in the way Game 2 went. I'm not asking our team questions. The ballers are in there. Cooper said to turn the page and move on to the next game.
Against Colorado, the opposing goalies had a combined save percentage of.. It was good fortune for Colorado that they faced David Rittich instead of Juuse Saros, but it was also due to the fact that the Avs were an offensive steamroller.
This series has displayed the latter. The most successful goalie in NHL history is Andrei Vasilevskiy. Before Saturday night's game, the Bolts had a 9-2 record and a.938 save percentage, thanks in part to him.
In the second period, Vasilveskiy tried to slow down the Colorado attack by stretching out.
Vasilevskiy had a save percentage of.838. Cooper kept him in the game despite the fact that he was on the hook for all seven goals in the second game.
It's time to worry about Vasilevskiy. He has faced the same number of high-danger shots in the playoffs as he has in this one. His save percentage is out of whack with the rest of the playoffs. His goals per 60 minutes are slightly higher this time around. Vasilevskiy is averaging 6.94 per 60 minutes against the Avs, compared to 3.61 per 60 for the rest of the playoffs
The Lightning have had a lot of trouble in the playoffs. He might be able to locate his pitch back at his house. Perhaps they can bail him out.
He was left to dry. He has been our leader for a long time. Stamkos said that they owe it to him to have a better game. Is this on him? The group has to be better.
In the first and second games of the series, the line of Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos was always in motion. When MacKinnon's line didn't see the top group, it also didn't see the checking line.
Bednar said he was comfortable with Nathan going against the top guys.
He wouldn't be. The line with MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin had a 9-0 shot-attempt advantage when they were on the ice for 5-on-5 in the second game.
Stamkos didn't have a point in the series after he had one shot on goal in the second game. Ondrej Palat did not have a shot attempt in the second game of the series. The man had three shots and was a minus 3. Point has one shot and one assist in the two games he's played.
They are playing at a high level. They should be given credit for their work. Cooper said we are not. Two good teams. I think it was obvious that they were playing at a higher level than we are. We have to raise our game.
The names of the players on the Stanley Cup are engraved twice. They are the ones who have won the Most Valuable Player trophy. If the Lightning are going to get back into this series, they need to lead by example.
In our locker room, we are not defeated. Stamkos said that they got a chance to go home and make it a series.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
