2022 Stanley Cup Final Preview: Colorado Avalanche vs Tampa Bay Lightning

We have finally reached the 2022 Stanley Cup Final! The matchup is set as it will be the Colorado Avalanche vs Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Colorado Avalanche are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. That was the last time Colorado won the Stanley Cup. Prior to that, the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996. The Avalanche have been the best team all season in the NHL. They will have home-ice advantage in this series, but they are not afraid to play on the road. Entering the Stanley Cup Final, Colorado has an overall record of 12-2, including being 7-0 on the road. Colorado defeated the Nashville Predators in four games, St. Louis Blues in six games, and Edmonton Oilers in four games to get to the Stanley Cup Final. The Avalanche are trying to win their third Stanley Cup in their third appearance.

While the defending Stanley Cup Champions are returning back to the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the New York Rangers in six games. The Tampa Bay Lightning are returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season, as their quest for a three-peat stays alive. It is their fourth trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2015. Along the way, the Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games and the Florida Panthers in four games. Now the Lightning are looking to join an exclusive club as the first team since the New York Islanders dynasty of the 1980s to win three straight Stanley Cups. Pat Maroon is trying to be the first player since then to win four straight Stanley Cups.

This will not be an easy task. Let’s get to the preview.

Stanley Cup Final Preview: Colorado Avalanche vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final gets underway Wednesday night with the Colorado Avalanche vs Tampa Bay Lightning. Both teams are similarly built for this time of year. However, entering the series, the defending Stanley Cup Champions are not the favourites; though they should be. However, it is the Avalanche who are favourites this year to win the Stanley Cup, with the Lightning in the underdog role. Colorado won the season series, but Tampa Bay has proven that really does not matter come playoff time. Let’s take a dive into the series preview.

Can Tampa Bay’s Neutral Zone Defence Slow Down Colorado’s High-Powered Offence?

One of the things the Lightning have been so skilled at this playoff season and when they won back-to-back Stanley Cups, is their ability to clog up the neutral zone. Just look what they did to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. The Florida Panthers in the second and most recently the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final. Florida was the best offensive team all year and they scored three goals in the entire series. Tampa’s ability to eliminate the stretch pass and rush through the neutral zone has been vital to their success, especially this year.

The line of Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, and Alex Killorn has played a big role in that. These three had the assignment of taking on the other team’s top line. They won the matchup battle against New York’s top line of Frank Vatrano, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider as they forechecked hard in the offensive zone and were always back responsibly playing defence. However, in this series against the Avalanche, their assignment will be the Nathan MacKinnon line.

Nobody has been able to stop this line in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It all starts with Cale Makar on the backend moving the puck out of the zone. Colorado is so good with their breakout as they make several quick passes and it is already in the other end. The key for Colorado is… can they break this variation of the trap that Tampa Bay plays so well, especially when they have a lead? That is a matchup to keep an eye on.

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Balance Attacked Featuring Game Breakers on Both Teams

As previously mentioned, these teams are similarly built. Each team has a balanced attack with four lines that can score. Add in three solid defensive pairs. Colorado may have a slight edge on the older Lightning on the backend, but not by much. They have shown they can still get it done in crunch time. Not to mention, both teams play to the very last second. These teams are no strangers to scoring goals late in games. Especially with so many game-breakers on their roster.

When you think of the Lightning, the first players you think of are Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. When a big goal is needed, Kucherov always finds himself in the middle of the action. And the forgotten player on that line is Ondrej Palat. Palat had two game-winners in the Eastern Conference Final with under two minutes left in regulation. And if Brayden Point does return to the lineup for the Lightning, he is another player the Avalanche have to be worried about with his speed and skill.

And while those players stand out, they have players that are willing to muck it up and grind shifts out. And that is why this team is so dangerous. We already mentioned the Cirelli line, but guys like Corey Perry, Ross Colton, and Pat Maroon are no strangers to scoring big goals. On defence, guys like Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev can play the role of hero as well. And oh yeah, they have a guy named Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has the ability to steal multiple games in the series.

Colorado is looking at a mirror image of the Lightning minus the goaltending. Offensively, they are one of the best teams in the league with MacKinnon, Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen. These guys have shown, on numerous occasions in the playoffs, the ability to take over games and score at will. Makar leads all defencemen and his team in points. He is second in the playoffs only behind Kucherov. MacKinnon is second behind Makar on the Avalanche. Rantanen and Landeskog are heating up at the right time for Colorado as well. And if Nazem Kadri is able to return, he is just another weapon Colorado can throw out there.

Just like Tampa, the Avalanche have guys that can play the role of hero with Artturi Lehkonen, J.T. Compher, Valeri Nichushkin, and Darren Helm. All these players have played a role in an Avalanche victory along the way in Colorado’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. The difference is between the pipes. Darcy Kuemper has to match the play of Vasilevskiy. Can he do it?

Special Teams Battle

The key to any series is who will win the special teams battle. Tampa Bay’s penalty kill was excellent in the first two rounds. Especially Round 2 against the Panthers, where they surrendered one power-play goal. In the Conference Final, the Lightning penalty kill was not the greatest. Though it got better, they gave up a power-play goal in every game except one. That has to change against Colorado, which has one of the best power plays out there.

However, the Lightning have a pretty good power play themselves, and when they needed it the most to come through, it does. Colorado has to stay out of the penalty box, especially if Point comes back into the lineup. The Lightning have the ability to throw different looks at teams, so Colorado has to be prepared for it.

Lightning Hoist Cup If

They continue to control the neutral zone. Having three days off will allow the Lightning just enough rest to be ready for a younger, quicker team. The Lightning got stronger as the Rangers series progressed. Their ability to grind games out is what makes them so dangerous. It does not matter how long it takes to score a goal, the Lightning never waiver from their system.

Avalanche Hoist Cup If

They can transition the puck with pace through the neutral zone. Colorado has one of the best transition games in the league. The Avalanche will want to study tape from the Rangers series and get Lightning players moving East/West, especially Vasilevskiy. If Colorado can tire the Lightning players out in their own defensive zone it will open seams to score.