Tag: 2022 Stanley Cup Final

Conn Smythe tracker after Stanley Cup Final Game 2: Can anyone dethrone Cale Makar?

Makar could soon be the king of the Cup champion.

Oh boy, after that complete evisceration, where do I even begin?

Let’s try this: On Saturday night, the Avalanche and Lightning took each other on in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, and Colorado took a 2-0 series lead. Cale Makar had–

Hmm, no. I feel like I’m underselling it.

Another attempt: On Saturday night, the Avalanche (-160) positively demolished the two-time defending Cup champion Lightning, 7-0. They got off to a fast start, never looked back, and continued to enjoy more Blink 182.  The series feels over, and Colorado is the NHL’s new overlord.

Ah, there, that’s better.

With the Avs now two wins from the Cup, the discussion around their playoff MVP, the Conn Smythe winner, will only heat up. I have to say: I’ll be surprised if anyone snatches it from a superstar like Makar. The man at the forefront of one of the great team defensive performances we might have ever seen.

But, you never know. Let’s see where the race for the Conn Smythe stands after two games of the Cup Final. Spoiler alert: A big Avalanche has fallen on this list.

See all 3 of the Avalanche’s electrifying goals in the first period of Game 2 against the Lightning

Colorado is COOKING in Game 2!

The Tampa Bay Lightning must be feeling some incredible deja vu right now.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Lightning and Avalanche started pretty similarly to how Game 1 went between the two teams. On Saturday, the Avalanche absolutely blitzed the Lightning for three — yes, three — first period goals to take a dominant 3-0 lead into the second period.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Avalanche took a 3-1 lead ahead of the second period in Wednesday night’s Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Colorado completely dominated Tampa Bay in the first 20 minutes of Saturday’s game. From the score to the shot count — 11-5 by the end of the first — the Avalanche were in complete and utter control of Game 2 from puck drop on.

Talk about absolute control from the Avalanche in Game 2, who are up 1-0 in the series against the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. Here’s every first period goal the Avalanche scored in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Why a Blink-182 song might lead the Colorado Avalanche to another Stanley Cup

Avalanche’s Andre Burakovsky scores electric OT game-winner in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final

The Avalanche take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in a thriller!

Andre Burakovsky is the undisputed hero of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final for the Colorado Avalanche.

The 2022 Stanley Cup Final kicked off on Wednesday to extreme fanfare, with the back-to-back champions in the Tampa Bay Lightning taking on the high-flying Avalanche. Game 1 was an incredible showcase of the talent these two teams possess, with the Avalanche taking leads of 2-0 and 3-1 and the Lightning eventually battling back to force the game into overtime at 3-3.

It was, however, a real quick overtime, as Burakovsky scored the game-winner just a minute and 23 seconds into the extra frame after yet another costly turnover burned the Lightning.

What a set up by Valeri Nichushkin with that sick cross-ice pass that had Andrei Vasilevskiy well out of position to make the save on Burakovsky’s quick shot. And what a goal too!

Thanks to Burakovsky’s second goal of these playoffs, the Avalanche now hold a 1-0 lead in the series with Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final set for Saturday.

[mm-video type=video id=01g5mhjjfw7hty939tz3 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g5mhjjfw7hty939tz3/01g5mhjjfw7hty939tz3-8736324dfcf8de58bdf27b1e5d157f5b.jpg]

[listicle id=1912674]

Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed his 1st five-hole goal of the 2022 playoffs in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final

Wait what?

It took 18 games into the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Andrei Vasilevskiy to allow a five-hole goal. Wait, what?

Game 1 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final began on Wednesday between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche. Hockey fans have a lot to look forward to in this series with all the star power on display, and so far Game 1 has not disappointed.

With the first period only halfway over, the Avalanche took a 2-0 lead on the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. A terrible turnover in the defensive zone for the Lightning turned into a golden chance for Valeri Nichushkin all alone in front, as he zipped the puck past Vasilevskiy and sent the home Avalanche fans into a frenzy.

Vasilevskiy certainly wants that soft goal back for sure, especially given the caliber of goaltender we know he can be. The wildest part, however, is that goal was the first goal of these playoffs that caught Vasilevskiy between the legs.

Yes, really!

That’s incredible stuff. We know Vasilevskiy is a sensational goaltender in his own right, but to not allow a five-hole goal until Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is something else. Of course, he will need to be better for the Lightning as the team looks to three-peat.

[mm-video type=video id=01g5mhjjfw7hty939tz3 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g5mhjjfw7hty939tz3/01g5mhjjfw7hty939tz3-8736324dfcf8de58bdf27b1e5d157f5b.jpg]

[listicle id=1911584]

The Colorado Avalanche are Stanley Cup favorites over back-to-back champion Tampa Bay Lightning

Colorado gets the nod in both Game 1 and the series from Tipico Sportsbook.

The Stanley Cup Finals get underway Wednesday (June 15), as the Tampa Bay Lightning look to turn their title repeat into a three-peat. Standing in their way is the Colorado Avalanche, a team that is averaging over 4.5 goals per game and swept two opponents in the postseason. This is shaping up to be an incredible series, and one that is high-scoring and thrilling to boot.

Despite the Lightning entering the Stanley Cup Finals with the 2020 and 2021 titles under their belt, the Avalanche are the favorites not just in Game 1, but the series as well.

According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Avs are expected to win Game 1 outright (-155 ML) with the Lightning underdogs on the spread (+1.5) at -200. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals, and it could be tempting to take the over at +105.

[afflinkbutton text=”Avalanche (-155)” link=”https://media.tipico.com/C.ashx?btag=a_93b_163c_+++SLUG+++&affid=47&siteid=93&adid=163&c=+++SLUG+++”]

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

7 important players to watch during the 2022 Stanley Cup Final

The stars will be out in full force in the Stanley Cup Final.

The stars will surely be out for the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.

Between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche, there is talent galore in this NHL playoff finale with history on the line. The Lightning have won back-to-back Stanley Cups with a third in a row looming large if they can win four more games.

Standing in their way, however, are the Avalanche, who have been denied time and time again to get to the later rounds of the playoffs but finally succeeded this year. These two teams were two of the best in the NHL all season long, and this Stanley Cup Final promises to be an explosion of talent not seen in some time.

And yet, which players should you be paying the most attention to? Here are the seven most important players you need to watch during the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.

Predicting the 2022 Stanley Cup Final between the Lightning and Avalanche

The Stanley Cup Final is here!

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, hockey fans!

Wednesday night marks the start of the Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche. It’s been a long playoff road to get here, but these teams were two of the best in the NHL all season long and there’s sure to be incredible hockey to come.

Despite both teams being deserving, only one of them will be able to lift the Stanley Cup come series end. But, which team will it be? That’s a good question! Much like we’ve done for previous rounds in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s time to predict who will win the Stanley Cup Final!

The 2022 Stanley Cup Final is the first to feature two teams without this key feature of their names

Only four teams in the NHL feature this unique linguistic quirk!

The 2022 Stanley Cup Final is set to be one of the more exciting championship bouts we’ve seen in the modern NHL era. Before the puck drops on Game 1 on Wednesday, however, this cool — but mostly irrelevant — statistic made its way around social media.

You see, in this heavyweight fight between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche, not only is this series set to be exciting, it also will make NHL history! For the first time ever in the NHL, the Stanley Cup Final will feature two teams whose names don’t end with the letter “s”.

Pretty wild, right? There are only four teams in the NHL without the letter “s” at the end of their name, including the Avalanche, Wild, Kraken, and Lightning.

Talk about a neat coincidence! Given that there’s only four teams out of 32 in the NHL who could have made this happen, it’s no wonder we’ve never seen it before in this league.

[mm-video type=video id=01g3h4nvjwqqv0a3zr12 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g3h4nvjwqqv0a3zr12/01g3h4nvjwqqv0a3zr12-d99b3cb0b20162bbd58c44d81b5e2287.jpg]

[listicle id=1899220]

This stat about the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and Jaromir Jagr is absolutely mind blowing

This is wild!

Jaromir Jagr’s legacy in the NHL is as long-lasting as they come, but at the start of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, something will be different for the first time in decades.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final will begin on Wednesday, featuring the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning. But for the first time in over 40 years, the series won’t feature a teammate of Jagr’s.

Yes, really! Since 1980, the Stanley Cup Final has featured at least one of Jagr’s teammates during his career. While Jagr wasn’t playing hockey in 1980, his eventual teammate in Pittsburgh Bryan Trottier was!

This list, compiled by the NHL, features some incredible names, such as Mark Messier, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Mark Recchi, and more.

What a list! And what a legacy for Jagr to have such a storied career in the NHL for this streak to finally be broken now in 2022.

[mm-video type=video id=01g3gqzm4aj2yfw0qh4q playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g3gqzm4aj2yfw0qh4q/01g3gqzm4aj2yfw0qh4q-d32ce83172c51687b91cffd2dbdd5973.jpg]

[listicle id=1906934]