Lehkonen, MacKinnon among Avalanche top performers in Cup Final Game 6

TAMPA -- Who played well in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final? Sometimes it's easy to tell, sometimes it isn't. NHL.com graded the players in the 2-1 victory by the Colorado Avalanche against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Sunday. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup with a 4-2 victory in the best-of-7. Here are the players and trends that stood out the most.

Honor roll

Artturi Lehkonen (Avalanche) -- Lehkonen stepped up once again in a key situation, delivering the game-winning goal to put the Avalanche over the top for their first Cup victory since 2001. It was his League-leading fourth game-winning goal of the postseason. After hitting the post in the first period, Lehkonen converted a 3-on-2 at 12:28 of the second period that stood up. The 26-year-old Finland-born forward scored in Game 1, and the Game 6 game-winner was his third point of the Final. He also scored the overtime winner that completed the sweep of the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final. Lehkonen finished the playoffs with 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 20 games.

Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)-- The Avalanche forward got his team rolling in the second period, scoring during a delayed penalty at 1:54 of the period with a one-timer from the left circle. It was his second goal of the Final and one of his better power games of the series; he also assisted on Lehkonen's goal, giving him a two-point game and increasing his playoff production to 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 20 games.

Steven Stamkos (Lightning) -- The Tampa Bay captain got the home crowd into Game 6 quickly, converting a turnover deep in the Colorado zone with a quick shot that went under Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper. Stamkos was a forechecking force in Game 6, raising the danger factor for Tampa Bay's top line with its season on the line. Stamkos had 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 23 games in the playoffs.
Darcy Kuemper (Avalanche) -- The Avalanche goalie had his best game of the series at a critical time, making 22 saves and relying on quick reflexes to keep the defending champions off the scoreboard after Stamkos's goal 3:48 in. He wasn't overworked in the third period, when his teammates did a strong job of keeping the heat off, but still made four saves, including a superb stop on Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov with 6:33 remaining.
Cale Makar (Avalanche) -- The Colorado defenseman had no points in Game 6, the same as Game 1, but his quick work all over the ice made an impact in the Cup-clinching game. Makar played 24:21 and had five shot attempts, with one shot on goal, and finished the playoffs as the League's third-leading scorer with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 20 games, behind Connor McDavid (33 points) and Leon Draisaitl (32 points) of the Edmonton Oilers. To top off his being named winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman this past Tuesday, Makar was also named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the League's playoff MVP.
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Stock watch

Andrei Vasilevskiy (up) -- It was another strong elimination game for the Tampa Bay goalie, who had 28 saves in Game 6. Vasilevskiy rebounded strongly from a 7-0 defeat in Game 2 of the series and put his team back into a competitive spot in the Final. Vasilevskiy finished the playoffs with a 14-9 record, a 2.52 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. That's championship goaltending, even though the Lightning fell two wins short of winning the Cup for the third straight season.
Lightning power play (down) -- It was only a factor early in Game 6, but it went back to being a negative factor for the defending champions. The Lightning failed to get a shot on their power play 23 seconds into the game and never got another opportunity. They finished the Final at 11.1 percent (2-for-18).
Bowen Byram (up) -- The 21-year-old defenseman set up MacKinnon for the one-time shot that tied it early in the second period and played like an experienced veteran in Game 6. Coach Jared Bednar clearly realized that, using Byram for 25:48, most of any skater. He finished the playoffs with nine assists in 20 games.
Lightning strategy (up) -- It seems like an odd citation in a defeat, but Tampa Bay's game plan adjustment after losing the first two games swung this series into an ultra-competitive one. After having all kinds of difficulty with Colorado's speed in Games 1 and 2, the Lightning started sending a forward up the ice for stretch passes whenever a turnover was imminent or took place, and it took some of the pressure out of the Avalanche forecheck. That reduction in pressure in their own zone allowed Tampa Bay to even out the zone time. An additional adjustment, to up the intensity on its own forecheck, really put this series into the trenches and kept things close over the final two games of the series.
Mikhail Sergachev (up) -- The Lightning defenseman was again on the ice for hard minutes, playing 23:34 in Game 6 and matched against the Avalanche's most explosive players. He continued to play with poise, with a good gap and an aggressive approach, including in the offensive zone when needed. The 24-year-old has a bright future with that kind of calm, effective game under intense pressure.

What we learned

Avalanche stayed the course
They were in against the two-time defending champions, but the Avalanche got out of the gate quickly, winning the first two games. They had setbacks during the Final against a quality opponent and when some of the bounces didn't go their way, there was no panic. Colorado came back with another determined, strong game in Game 6 after losing Game 5 at home on a late goal and got to its game in the second period Sunday. Scoring two goals to take the lead in that middle period, the Avalanche kept up their skating and kept the pressure on the Lightning, limiting the danger in the third period and claiming the championship in six games.
Lightning were defeated by a better team
They came out fast in Game 6 with a strong forecheck and the first goal, but the Lightning's run of series victories ended at 11 mostly because they ran into a superior opponent. Tampa Bay adjusted well in the series after losing the first two games in Denver, but the speed and skill they faced, compounded with the determination the Avalanche possessed, was too much to overcome. The competitiveness of the series, however, was evidence of their championship pedigree.