Avalanche disappointed after Game 5 loss, focus on closing out Cup Final

DENVER -- It was all laid out so perfectly for the Colorado Avalanche. Coming home to Denver having captured a game at Amalie Arena in Tampa, with the chance to close out the Stanley Cup Final, the stands shaking and the fans cheering and the Cup in their grasp.

Except it didn't quite happen that way.
Instead of finishing off the Stanley Cup Final, the
Avalanche lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning
on Friday at Ball Arena, 3-2. That means there will be a Game 6 back in Tampa on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, TVAS, SN) with Colorado leading 3-2 in the best-of-7 series.
"Our goal was to finish it out tonight," Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews said. "Obviously we didn't get that done in front of our building. Our fans were going for us, they were encouraging us and giving their support. A little disappointed. We'll reset and get ready for the next one."
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And even with their disappointment, even with their frustration with the way the game had turned out, the Avalanche were able to fall back on the idea that this was the Final -- it was never going to go exactly according to plan.
"I mean they're a good team, man," captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "They're in the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row. It's not supposed to be easy and it's not going to be easy. We knew that coming into this, we knew that coming into tonight."
They will have to recalibrate.
Though, in the end, the Avalanche weren't particularly upset about their game on Friday. They acknowledged they started out slowly, more slowly than they had in other games during the series. But they believed they had chances, had opportunities, just made a few missteps that cost them.
"I think we created 40-something shots and created enough scoring chances to score some goals," Landeskog said. "But that little extra wasn't there tonight and we're going to need that moving forward."
It started with the first goal, a shot by Jan Rutta that went under Darcy Kuemper's glove and over his pad at 15:23 of the first period.
"It was just a little bit of a knuckler," Kuemper said. "Happens. You know, you do things the right way, that's all you can do. Obviously, you don't want to let any goals in. But it happens."

The Avalanche tied the game at 5:07 of the second, on yet another goal by Valeri Nichushkin, only to see Cale Makar called for a tripping penalty 31 seconds into a 4-on-4. Nikita Kucherov scored at 8:10 of the period on the power play.
But, once again, the Avalanche tied it, a puck from Makar that deflected off of Erik Cernak's skate and past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
It wouldn't last. There was Ondrej Palat scoring the game-winner at 13:38 of the third, a goal that Makar took responsibility for.
"I lose an assignment on the goal," he said. "Just a mental lapse. Unfortunately, it was in the back of our net. It just can't happen."
Bednar, though, said, "I wouldn't put that all on Cale."
So, no, it wouldn't be easy. It's the Stanley Cup Final. It rarely is.
"They're an experienced group," Landeskog said. "They've had a lot of success. We knew this would be the toughest game of this series. And every game is gonna get tougher. So we've just got to stick with it and keep playing our game."
That will include a smoother start, a better jump at the drop of the puck, fewer early penalties.
"I didn't love our start," Bednar said. "It was OK. We were checking, playing the right way. It didn't seem like we got on the attack as much as we wanted. But again, the two penalties early in the game for us, kind of takes you a little bit longer to get going. But after that, I thought our guys played hard, played well. We've got to find a way to capitalize on a chance or two."
It's up to them to correct that ahead of Game 6. It's up to them to not let one loss snowball into two, to not return to Ball Arena again this season.
"It was always going to be that fight," Toews said. "It's a fight every time. I don't think there's ever been an easy game to close a team out. Through our playoff run, through any playoff run, it's the hardest game -- to close a team out. We've just got to bring our best."
They will nurse their wounds for a night. They will study the game tape. They will make their adjustments.
And then, it is on to Game 6 and another chance to win the Cup.
"Obviously it stings," Landeskog said. "But, listen, it's a seven-game series and we'll wake up tomorrow, we'll be ready to go, watch some film and see where we can get better and see where we can tighten things up to make it harder for them. We'll bounce right back."