Lightning must raise level after Game 2 loss in Cup Final
Return home in familiar position; Avalanche 7-0 on road in playoffs
Their quest to three-peat as champions is facing its biggest challenge following a
7-0 loss the Colorado Avalanche
in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena on Saturday.
Yes, Tampa Bay is trailing 2-0 again in a best-of-7 series heading home for Game 3 at Amalie Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, CBC, SN, TVAS). It's the same hole the Lightning were in after they lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final on the road against the New York Rangers.
But it feels like a steeper climb this time after what happened Saturday.
"They're playing at an elite level right now, give them credit. We are not," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "They're two good teams. They're just playing at a much higher level than we are right now, and I think it was evident watching that game tonight.
"So, we have to elevate our play."
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The Lightning were able to do that after losing the first two games to the Rangers, but also had something to build on after finding their game in the second half of a 3-2 loss in Game 2. That gave them confidence heading home, and they went on to win the next four games.
Tampa Bay will have to rely on home ice again for Game 3 against Colorado but will have to essentially rebuild its game from scratch against a juggernaut that has won seven in a row and is 14-2 in the playoffs.
The Lightning are 7-1 at home this postseason, including seven straight wins. But the Avalanche are 7-0 on the road.
"People are going to be watching this game tonight and probably think the series is over," Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. "But our group, we're a very resilient group. We get to go back home. We were in this position last round. So, whether it's 1-0 or 7-0 or 10-0, it's a loss in the playoffs and you've got to move on, and we've got to man up as a team and as a person. Our team is going to do that."
The Lightning thought they saw the best of the Avalanche in a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1 on Wednesday. It turned out Colorado was just getting warmed up.
Like in Game 1, when the Avalanche jumped out to 2-0 lead in the opening 9:23 and led 3-1 by the end of the first period, the Lightning had trouble handling their speed and relentless pressure. This time, it was 2-0 after the opening 7:55 and 3-0 at the end of the first period.
Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh's roughing penalty 1:01 into the game led to Valeri Nichushkin's power-play goal that opened the scoring at 2:54. Defenseman Josh Manson scored on a 3-on-1 rush to make it 2-0 at 7:55.
Andre Burakovsky, who scored the overtime goal in Game 1, was left unguarded to go to the net and finish the rebound of Mikko Rantanen's shot from the right circle and make it 3-0 at 13:52.
"It was an undisciplined penalty by me and giving a team a power play in the first minute is never a great recipe," McDonagh said. "And we lost our coverage and gave them odd-man looks and anytime you do that you're flirting with disaster and danger. Just a bad time to have a bad start."
The difference in Game 2 was the Lightning were never able to get the Avalanche under control, and they kept coming in waves. Nichushkin and Cale Makar each scored two goals. Rantanen had three assists.
While Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper cruised to the second playoff shutout of his career by making 16 saves, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed seven goals on 30 shots.
"You tip your cap to the execution that they had, but at the same time¸ there's a fine line between having respect for your opponent and too much respect to your opponent," Stamkos said. "We need to realize that we got here for a reason. Let's get back to our game and understand that they have an unbelievable team over there with great skill at every position, but so do we.
"So, let's find out what we're made of when we get back home."
Proud, two-time defending champions, the Lightning have two days to digest what happened and figure out how to turn the series around in Game 3.
Tampa Bay did it against New York in the conference final. Doing it against Colorado is going to take something more special.
"They're two completely different teams. It's two completely different series," Cooper said. "The common factor is we're down 0-2 to both of them. We've written one story. Now we just have to write another."
