3 Keys: Avalanche at Lightning, Game 6 of Stanley Cup Final

Avalanche (1C) at Lightning (3A)
8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS
Colorado leads best-of-7 series 3-2

The Colorado Avalanche will have their second opportunity to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001 when they play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on Sunday.
Tampa Bay kept its bid to win the Stanley Cup for the third straight season alive with a 3-2 victory in Game 5 at Colorado on Friday. But the Avalanche are 8-1 on the road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including series-clinching wins in each of the first three rounds this postseason.
The Avalanche (15-4) have yet to lose consecutive games in the playoffs and have experience rebounding from tough losses in series-clinching games; they lost 5-4 in overtime at home in Game 5 of the second round against the St. Louis Blues before clinching that series with a 3-2 victory on the road in Game 6.
"It's about resetting," Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen said. "We had a chance at home, but now we have a chance on the road. We know they're going to bring their best game and we've got to be ready for that. Every individual has got to be responsible and get ready for tonight."
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The Lightning are 3-0 when facing elimination in the playoffs and are confident at home, where they are 8-2 this postseason and had won eight straight before a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 4 on Wednesday.
With a win Monday, Tampa Bay would force Game 7 at Colorado on Tuesday.
"I think our mindset is just worrying about this game," Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli said. "Obviously if we don't win tonight, then there isn't [a Game 7], so all our focus is on tonight and going out there and playing our game plan and being ready to go from the puck drop and I think just kind of building each and every game."
The Lightning will try to become the seventh team to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-1 in a best-of-7 Cup Final and the first since the Edmonton Oilers against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the lone team to win the Cup after trailing 3-1 in the Cup Final (1-35) when they overcame a 3-0 deficit against the Detroit Red Wings in 1942.
Here are 3 keys to Game 6:

1. Play with urgency

The Lightning are the desperate team, needing a win to stay alive in the series, and can feed off the energy of their fans. But the Avalanche need to try to match their urgency. Colorado started fast in winning each of the first two games of the series at home but played nervous and tentative in the first period with a chance to win the Cup in Game 5, taking two early penalties and falling behind 1-0.
The Avalanche will need to be me assertive from the drop of the puck in Game 6.
"You have to have that desperation because it's the [Cup Final]," Avalanche forward Josh Manson said. "You can't look at the amount of games that we have left. You have to be desperate every single game, and I think that's something that we've talked about. We played St. Louis and they had that game where they kind of came back on us. We felt that we needed to get desperate, and we learned from that a little bit."

2. Play with structure

After allowing 11 goals in losing the first two games of the Final, Tampa Bay has returned to playing the structured defensive game with which it had success in the first three rounds, holding Colorado to seven goals in the past three games, including four at even strength.
The Lightning controlled play for stretches in Game 5 with grinding shifts in the offensive zone that wore down the Avalanche defense.
Andrei Vasilevskiy making 35 saves helped too.
"We're getting better," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Again, I don't know if we've played our best yet. And some of that has to do with Colorado, there's no question. They're a hell of a team. … But we're starting to get back to playing the game a little below the goal lines and trying to create more in the offensive zone, spend more offensive zone time and then keep Colorado off the rush."

3. Darcy Kuemper

The Avalanche are sticking with Kuemper in net after coach Jared Bednar thought he was "OK" in Game 5. Kuemper made 26 saves but allowed a questionable first goal to defenseman Jan Rutta that snuck in under his glove and over his left pad. He will need to play better, especially against Vasilevskiy, who is 4-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average, .956 save percentage and one shutout in four games when the Lightning have faced elimination the past two postseasons.
Kuemper has been inconsistent in the Final (3-2, 2.75 GAA, .899 save percentage), but has bounced back following poor outings. After allowing five goals on 22 shots and being pulled during the second period of a 6-2 loss in Game 3, he made 37 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4.

Avalanche projected lineup

Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nazem Kadri -- Valeri Nichushkin
Alex Newhook -- J.T. Compher -- Logan O'Connor
Darren Helm -- Andrew Cogliano -- Nico Sturm
Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
Jack Johnson -- Josh Manson
Bowen Byram -- Erik Johnson
Darcy Kuemper
Pavel Francouz
Scratched:Justus Annunen, Ryan Murray, Kurtis MacDermid, Jacob MacDonald, Jayson Megna, Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Injured:Samuel Girard (sternum), Andre Burakovsky (hand)

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Alex Killorn
Ross Colton -- Nick Paul -- Corey Perry
Patrick Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Riley Nash
Victor Hedman -- Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Zach Bogosian
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Scratched:Cal Foote, Fredrik Claesson
Injured:Brayden Point (lower body)

Status report

Burakovsky participated in the optional morning skate and worked on stick handling. The forward remains day-to-day. ... Point was on the ice during an optional morning skate, but the forward will not play.