Krenn: Three Things we learned from a gutsy Game 5 victory in Denver

They're not done yet.
The Tampa Bay Lightning extended their season with a 3-2 road win over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
It was just another example of the Bolts' ability to fight through adversity in all situations. Between the raucous crowd, the altitude in Colorado, and the Avalanche tying the game in the third period, the Lightning had plenty to overcome.
But as we've seen over and over again, they did it.

The series will shift back to Tampa for Game 6, another must-win game for the Lightning, on Sunday night.
A lot of Colorado's success has come from their quick starts, particularly on home ice. Similar to the 'Shark Tank' in San Jose a few years back, Ball Arena is a loud environment and a tough one for opponents to win in. The Avalanche feed off that energy from their crowd and are often able to use that extra juice to grab a quick lead and make their opponent chase the game.
Tampa Bay needed to have a good start in Game 5 and get through the first 10-minute wave. They made it through that wave and got the always-important first goal of the game.
But it wasn't a top goal scorer who stepped up for the Lightning. It was Jan Rutta, who jumped up into the rush and took a pass all the way across the neutral zone from Corey Perry.
Rutta sped up the right boards into the Avalanche zone before winding up and ripping a slap shot on goal that found its way over the left pad and under the arm of Darcy Kuemper to put the Bolts up 1-0 with 4:37 left in the opening frame.
Tampa Bay took that 1-0 lead into the first intermission after generating four high-danger scoring chances to Colorado's three in the period.
The Avalanche answered early in the second period with Valeri Nichushkin scoring 5:07 in to tie the game at one, but the Lightning didn't blink.
After Alex Killorn and J.T. Compher were both whistled for penalties, Makar tripped Ondrej Palat 31 seconds into the four-on-four, giving Tampa Bay an extended four-on-three power play.
After a couple one-timers from Steven Stamkos were blocked, the Bolts captain elected to fake a one-timer that sent the Colorado defenseman spiraling out of control as he went down for another block.
Stamkos immediately fed the puck to Nikita Kucherov, who ripped a one-timer of his own that went off the post and in for his first goal of the Stanley Cup Final.
That would be the only goal of the second period and Tampa Bay went into the second intermission just 20 minutes away from pushing the series to Game 6.
The Avalanche weren't going to back down. Just 2:31 into the third period, Makar scored for Colorado to tie the game at two and the crowd at Ball Arena was rocking.
The Lightning's season was on the line and they needed someone to step up. Was there ever any doubt who that would be?
With 6:22 remaining in the third period, Victor Hedman found a wide-open Palat, who found a pocket of space in the slot and quickly released a one-timer that beat Kuemper inside his left post. It was Palat's 12th career game-winning goal in the playoffs, extending his franchise record.
It was one hell of a hockey game with chances both ways, but the Bolts willed themselves to a win and forced a Game 6 in their building on Sunday night.
Before we get to that, here's three things from Friday's Game 5 win.

1. FIRST TO FOUR
It doesn't matter if the series is 3-0 or 3-3, the Lightning know it's not over until one team gets four wins.
After Friday night, the Bolts have two. The Avalanche have three.
It was a huge win for Tampa Bay. Emotions were high as they closed that game out. But now, it's time to turn the page.
"You just have to reset and understand it's the first one to four," said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. "It's not the first one to three.
"You don't know how you're going to get there, but for us, our focus can't change. Our approach going into last night can't change tomorrow just because we're going home."
The victory kept Tampa Bay's season alive. That doesn't change the fact that the Stanley Cup will be in the building again on Sunday night. If it comes out of the case on Sunday, there's only one team that will be holding it.
The Bolts' backs are still against the wall. Once again, they'll need to have their best game of the season in Game 6.
"We played good," Lightning forward Pat Maroon said. "Now we've got to play better.
"It's just work ethic. That's it. We've just got to work hard.
"It's a huge challenge in front of us. It's an exciting challenge."
The veterans that Tampa Bay has in their locker room have provided a huge boost in so many different moments this year. The leadership group knows what the mentality has to be for Game 6.
"As good as it feels to extend the series, we realize how hard we had to work to get that tonight," Stamkos said. "We're going to have to replicate that at home.
"That was the goal when we came in here the other day. Let's get a win and let's get back to Tampa in front of our fans."
You have to give so much credit to the Lightning. Backs against the wall in a hostile environment at 5,000-plus feet above sea level, they saved their season. A lot of people think coming back from a 3-1 series deficit against Colorado is impossible. Well, the Bolts are two wins away from doing it.
"The mental fortitude you have to have to not buckle in the environment we were just in and play the type of game they did, there's a reason they've got a couple rings on their fingers," said Cooper.
It's like he's said all postseason.
"We're here to win a series. We don't care when we win it. We just want to win it."

2. SNEAKY P
It feels like Palat has earned a spot on the three things list in nearly every game this postseason, but he just continues to produce.
"All I can say about Palat is he plays with some of the best players in the world every year and he really doesn't get talked about," said Cooper. "He's always the third guy talked about on this line, but if you ask the other two players on his line, they would talk about him maybe the most."
Palat has had an incredible playoff run, not just this year, but all of them.
The game-winning goal was Palat's 11th goal of the postseason, tying his career high set during the 2020 playoffs. It also leads the Lightning with Stamkos right behind him with 10 goals.
His 20 points are the second-most on the team, trailing only Kucherov. His plus-nine rating leads the team, as do his 18 even-strength points and three game-winning goals.
"It's pretty remarkable," said Stamkos. "I think I just saw a stat, 12 game-winning goals.
"We always joke with Pally that he just finds a way. 'Sneaky P' found a way to put one in there.
"It was obviously another huge goal for us."
Tampa Bay fans saw Palat's game-winning goal on the jumbotron at AMALIE Arena, but his performance was being celebrated well outside of Florida as well.
In Palat's hometown in Czechia, there was a watch party held for friends and family to see number 18 playing in the Stanley Cup Final for the third-straight year.
"My parents just texted me there was like 80 people there," Palat said. "It was 2:00 in the morning, so it's nice to feel the support from back home, even when the game is pretty late.
"It feels great."
What a ride it's been for Palat, who was taken in the final five picks of the 2011 NHL Draft. His mentality from day one has stayed the same.
"When I went to the NHL for the first time, I was just trying to work hard, play every game the same way, and stay in the NHL," Palat explained. "It's been working so far."
It's certainly worked for Palat, who has played for one coach during his entire professional career, Cooper.
"I can't say enough about the kid," Cooper said. "He doesn't know any better because I'm the only pro coach he's had.
"When you have a player that's played for you this long, he's pretty dear to me. I'm so glad he's getting the attention he's getting right now."
In terms of his mark on the organization, let's look at Palat's regular season numbers first. He ranks top-10 in Lightning franchise history in nearly every statistical category.
He's played in 628 games (seventh), scoring 143 goals (10th) and added 280 assists (seventh) for 423 points (seventh). He has a +147 rating (T-first), 30 game-winning goals (T-sixth), and seven shorthanded goals (T-sixth).
Then you take a look at his playoff numbers.
He's played in 137 games (second), scoring 48 goals (second) and added 45 assists (fourth) for 93 points (third). He's recorded a plus-34 rating (second), scored 37 even-strength goals (first), and, of course, holds the franchise record with 12 game-winning goals.
Call it how it is. Palat is an all-time Lightning great. His impact on the organization has been remarkable, especially for a seventh-round pick.
"He just does his job and he gets rewarded for it because of his effort," said Cooper. "Everybody in that room knows how much Palat has brought to this organization.
"I feel like every year in the playoffs I have this same conversation about Ondrej Palat. It's impressive."
Maroon may have said it best during the Eastern Conference Final.
Maroon was asked why it's Palat that always comes up clutch on a team full of stars.
"Are you not calling him a star," asked Maroon. "Have you looked at his stats? I'll call him a star in my eyes.
"He's a big-time player who steps up in big-time moments and that's what stars do."

3. SERGY SHINING
On the day before his birthday, Mikhail Sergachev had a huge game for the Lightning on Friday night.
The ninth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft finished the night with two assists, but his contributions went well beyond the scoresheet.
Shortly after Rutta gave Tampa Bay the 1-0 lead, Colorado pushed to get the score evened up before the end of the first period. It goes without saying, Nathan MacKinnon is one of the biggest offensive threats in the NHL, especially when he gets going downhill with speed.
Not only is he fast, but he's big and strong. Prior to the start of Game 1, Cooper described him as "a bull in a china shop."
One of the scarier sights for a defender in today's NHL is MacKinnon galloping through the neutral zone with speed and entering the offensive end.
That's exactly what the Avalanche forward was doing late in the opening period. He dashed through the neutral zone and into the Tampa Bay defensive end. There was a lane to the net and MacKinnon tried to dash through that gap with his speed, but Sergachev used his skating to close the gap before lowering his shoulder and blasting MacKinnon with a big hit that sent him to the ice and allowed the Lightning to regain possession of the puck.
"You're talking about one of their top players coming down on a breakaway," said Bolts defenseman Ryan McDonagh. "Sergy shows his skating ability and his ability to close and take away a scoring chance.
"A huge turning point for sure."
Sergachev has had one hell of a postseason for Tampa Bay. His plus-seven rating leads all Bolts defensemen and is second among all Lightning skaters. His 10 points, two goals, and eight assists are all the second-most among the team's defensemen, trailing only Hedman.
Beyond the numbers, Sergachev has shown up in some of the biggest moments in the playoffs.
With the Eastern Conference Final tied 2-2, the Bolts were trailing the Rangers 1-0 at Madison Square Garden. Sergachev was the one to answer, scoring late in the second period with a quick wrist shot from the point that beat Igor Shesterkin.
The game was locked at 1-1 for the majority of the third period before Sergachev got the puck at the point and sent another quick wrister towards the net that deflected off the shin pad of Palat and past Shesterkin with 1:50 left in the game. That would be the game-winning goal to give Tampa Bay the 3-2 series lead.
In a series-clinching Game 6, Sergachev recorded the secondary assist on Stamkos's game-opening goal.
On Friday night, he picked up his second multi-point game of the playoffs, including the secondary assist on Palat's game-winning goal in the third period.
It was an impressive display of skill and maturity from Sergachev, who could have tried to shoot the puck through traffic, but it likely would have been blocked. Instead, he sent a pass to Hedman, who proceeded to set up Palat for that huge goal.
"I mean I could have shot it right away, but I thought it was long way for a puck to go and I saw Vic on my left," Sergachev explained. "When you see the best defenseman on the ice on the left, wide open, you just give it to him. Then, he gave it back to me and that guy did a really good job jumping in front of me and I just didn't want to shoot in his shin pads, so I gave it back to Vic and Vic made an unbelievable play to Pally, who was wide open.
"It's about patience, but at the same time, you don't want to waste an opportunity by shooting into the shin pads."
It's the Stanley Cup Final and the Bolts were tied with less than 10 minutes to play in the third period. The Stanley Cup was in the building and their season was on the line. Sergachev's patience in that moment was a prime example of why the Lightning acquired him via trade from the Montreal Canadiens.
In a series filled with speed and talented skaters on the other side, Sergachev's skating ability has been a big asset for Tampa Bay. His edgework, shiftiness, and quickness are a perfect fit for this series.
Over his last seven games, Sergachev has six points with two goals and four assists. His eight helpers this postseason set a new career high and his 10 points are tied for the most he's recorded in a single playoff year.
The craziest part? Sergachev just turned 24 on Saturday. The future is bright.
"He's got two Stanley Cups," said Cooper. "The amount of playoff games he's played at such a young age and to perform the way he has, he's just wise beyond his years."

4. BONUS: SECTION 322
I wanted to give a quick shoutout to Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, who flew out 150 full-time Lightning employees and paid for them to attend Game 5 in Colorado.
Section 322 was packed to the brim with Lightning blue and there were several times throughout the night when I could hear chants of "Let's go Bolts," and "Vasy, Vasy, Vasy," from the press box.
After Palat scored the game-winning goal, a "Let's go Lightning," chant echoed through the silence of shocked Avalanche fans at Ball Arena.
"He is a remarkable human being," said Cooper when asked about Vinik. "He and his family, it is never about the Viniks. It's always about everybody else and he's a treasure.
"That guy is gold."
Look no further than the Lightning Community Hero program that Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced in 2011-12.
Since then, there have been 502 Community Heroes honored at Bolts home games. In total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $26.3 million to more than 600 unique nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area.
During the summer of 2021, the Viniks announced the community hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.
"I guess I haven't been a part of other organizations, so for me to throw around 'the greatest owner in sports,' I just haven't seen what other owners are like," Cooper said. "But if there's one better than him, I'd like to know who it is."
Beyond the amazing state of the Lightning organization, Vinik's fingerprints are all over the Tampa Bay community. He's the owner of a professional sports team, but he has made the city of Tampa a better place. Hats off to him and his family.