In the movie "Clash of the Titans", Perseus seeks a way to defeat the destroyer of cities, The Kraken. His quest takes him to three witches, who suggest another Titan to defeat the Kraken. "A TITAN AGAINST A TITAN!", one exclaims. With all due respect to the Seattle Kraken, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the NHL's destroyer of cities according to Toronto, Dallas, Carolina, Columbus, their own in-state rivals from Sunrise and two different New York franchises over the last three years. Their opponents are the Titan that everyone has been waiting for years; the Colorado Avalanche. It's a franchise that couldn't break through until this season. Sounds kinda like the Lightning a few years ago... So will the Lightning win their THIRD Stanley Cup in a row? Or will the Avalanche take down this devastating monster and begin their own championship window?
Stars: It's no surprise that Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov has dominated the score sheet this post season. In 17 games this postseason, he has 7 goals, 16 assists, 23 points. His 5 Power Play goals are tops on the Lightning, and scored possibly the most crucial goal of the playoffs when he got the Bolts on the board agains the Rangers in Game 3. Then for good measure, he deftly shuffled the puck to Ondrej Palat in the final minute of that game for the winning goal. Kucherov was the winner of the 2019 Hart Trophy and this year he's making a case for the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.
There is no player in this sport that turns it on in the playoffs like Nate MacKinnon. His 11 goals in 14 games and 87 career playoff points in 64 career playoff games puts him on a level that only the greats get to. His 1.359 playoff points per game are 6th all time. The top overall pick from the 2014 NHL Draft has been waiting for the opportunity to be crowned and he's chomping at the bit for his first Stanley Cup.
Defense: Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman is his usual award-winning self. Whether it's the Norris or Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP, Hedman has run out of superlatives for the English language to describe him. While he only has two goals, defensively him and his mates Ryan McDonagh, Jan Rutta, Zack Bogosian, Cal Foote and Mikhail Sergachev have a collective 5 goals, but a plus-18 for the playoffs. To hell with the lack of goal production, stay in the plus column and they'll be adding another Lightning team to the Stanley Cup.
If there's one defenseman that many writers consider dethroning Hedman as best defenseman playing right now, it's Colorado's Cale Makar. The runner-up for last year's Norris Trophy had an incredible playoff so far as he makes his case for the Conn Smythe. 5 goals and 17 assists in a mere 14 games are Kucherov-esc, but Makar is doing it from the blue line. They will need to lean on him with Samuel Girard out for the playoffs. Josh Manson has been a welcomed addition since coming over from the Ducks at the deadline with 2 goals and 4 assists.
Goalies : Not going to lie, this one goes to Tampa. Andrei Vasilevskiy is at the top of his game and that's not good news for Colorado. His 2.27 GAA and .928 Save % dwarf the goalies that Colorado has seen. After winning his duel against the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin in the Eastern Conference Finals, the reigning Conn Smythe trophy winner is showing why it's hard to beat him four times in 7 games.
When Colorado's 2021 Vezina finalist goalie Philipp Grubauer defected to Seattle, Joe Sakic pivoted to acquire Darcy Kuemper from the Arizona Coyotes. He brought his good numbers from the desert to the Mile High City as he racked up a 37-12-4 record in the regular season, but he's been good enough in the playoffs. His 6-2 record with a 2.65 GAA and .897 Save % aren't going to scare anyone on the Lightning, but can he get back to his .921 save % and 2.54 GAA stat line from the regular season? Kuemper has been out since Game 2 of the Finals with an upper body injury (cause ya know, hockey secrecy), but backup Pavel Francouz has won 6 games as well in these playoffs.
Under-the-Radar players: At the trade deadline, the Lightning brought in Brandon Hagel from the Chicago Blackhawks and he scored 4 goals and 3 assists in 22 games to close the regular season. In the Finals, they will need his scoring touch he showed in the Windy City. Hagel has ONE goal this postseason on a goalie, with another into an empty net at Madison Square Garden. He hasn't been afraid of mixing it up either. His 25 PIMs are most among remaining players in the playoffs. The Lightning will need more goals and less penalties in the Finals from Hagel. They will hope Hagel doesn't have a bagel in the Finals. Sorry...had to do it.
While Tampa called Chicago, Colorado called Montreal and brought in Artturi Lehkonen. The Finnish forward scored the goal that put the Canadiens in the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals and this season he did it for Colorado. He's got 6 goals and 5 assists for the Avs in this playoff season, and has been worth every bit of the 2nd rounder and Justin Barron that Joe Sakic gave up to get him. He may need to step up even more if Nazem Kadri cannot return.
The Lightning will win this series if: If the same Lightning team that "found their game" after going down 2-0 in Game 3 vs the Rangers and down 2-0 in the series show up, then there's nothing to worry about. From Game 3's third period to the conclusion in the ECF, Tampa dominated 5-on-5 against the Rangers. They can smother you in your zone with their offense, and their neutral zone play was top notch to close out New York.
The Avalanche will win this series if: Just like my advice in the ECF, they keep their mental composure. The Avalanche can match the Lightning with top notch talent (more so than NY). They're healthy for the most part and rolling, however has the road been too easy for the Avs to get here? They're here nonetheless. Now you have to deal with a Sith Lord on the level of Darth Vader. Can their stars like the STILL UNDERRATED Mikko Rantanen and his 17 points in 14 games continue to roll against this Tampa team on the precipice of history? If One player that can change EVERYTHING its if Nazem Kadri can return for this series.
Prediction: No team has won three Stanley Cups in a row since 1983's conclusion of the NY Islanders dynasty. The Lightning seek to become a legendary team. The Avalanche are seeking to be the 1984 Edmonton Oilers that took down the Islanders dynasty. Even though the Avalanche have conquered every challenge they have faced in this Cup run, this is like fighting M. Bison, Shang Tsung, Dr. Wily and Mother Brain AT THE SAME TIME! Tampa Bay wants to take their place among the greatest teams ever and they're four wins away from doing it. Colorado won't make it easy, but the Lightning will win the Cup in 6 games.
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