Stanley Cup Finals – Game 2 Prediction
Read Time:5 Minute, 0 Second
The Avalanche were electric to start game one, they came out and shocked the Lightning with their speed, puck movement and fresh legs. Many were scared that the Avalanche were going to come out flat or slow after nine days off between the WCF game four and Stanley Cup Finals game one, but they kept their intensity and focus on the task at hand and punched Tampa Bay in the mouth in the first period. After the first, the Avs were up 3-1 and had 2-goal leads multiple times. The Avalanche took a 2-0 lead in a little under two minutes of ice time between the goals, they were absolutely flying around.
The second period would be a little more sloppy and would see the Lightning tie the game up at 3-3 heading into the third period. The third frame would have zero goals scored and overtime would be required to determine the winner of the first game. It only took 1:23 seconds in overtime for Andre Burakovsky to score one of the prettiest goals of the night and secure the Avalanche a game one victory and a 1-0 series lead!
The Colorado Avalanche radio call man Conor McGahey has had some legendary calls this off-season and pretty much the entire Avalanche fanbase has been in love with his energy!
Finally, the Avalanche almost doubled up the Lightning in shots on goal, out hit them, performed as to be expected in the faceoff circle, scored a power play goal, had a perfect penalty kill, blocked more shots than the Lightning, and had more than four times the takeaways than Tampa Bay. The Lightning had some serious opportunities in the second and third periods, and Darcy Kuemper had to be stable in net to earn this victory. I think the entire hockey world knows what Andre Vasilevskiy can do when he has time to settle in and get comfortable in a hockey game, but the Avalanche scored three goals on him in the first period!
For tonight’s game, Andrew Cogliano is more likely an option than Nazem Kadri, but both are inching closer to playing and both have been participating in practice. The Avalanche have a chance to take a 2-0 series lead in Denver tonight against the defending 2x Stanley Cup champions. They will need to fly around with the same speed and energy they started game one with. If they can get Vasy flustered early in the game, that appears to be the recipe for success against such an elite goal tender. He is currently 0-4 against the Avalanche in his last four games against us with his highest goals against average against any franchise in the NHL. The Avalanche have a key to this keeper, but that doesn’t mean that he cannot get hot and absolutely steal a game from this club.
The Avalanche must continue to respect their opponent, play their brand of hockey, score when opportunities are presented, and continue to be careful with the puck in the neutral zone as well as on their side of the ice. I think last game had a few “oopsies” that lead to incredible chances for the Lightning, and they are such a talented team that they will make you pay if mistakes become habits.
In the first game, there was a run of 45 seconds where I said to myself, “I think our fourth line just had the most dominant shift of the game so far”, where they were dropping massive hits, out-hustling, winning every 50/50 battle, putting pucks on net, cycling the puck, everything was working perfectly. If our depth guys and fourth liners can continue to fly around, hit, contribute, and get a scrappy goal here and there, I don’t see how any team beats these Colorado Avalanche in a seven game series.
The Avalanche had a great game from their first and second liners in game one, where the goals were scored by Landeskog, Nichushkin, Lehkonen, and the game winner by Andre Burakovsky. The assists were to Mikko, Landy, MacKinnon, Valerie, JT Compher, and Bowen Byram, but the top two players on the Avalanche roster were having spectacular games without finding the back of the net! I think this game two will be more about getting MacKinnon, Makar and Mikko in the the back of the net and we will see an instant classic of high scoring Stanley Cup Final hockey.
The Avalanche will come out and play as they have the entire playoffs, focused, fast, electric, and immediately. One of the biggest leaps this team has made over the last few seasons, is that they know their game, they know it works, they stick to what they know works, and they do it at 100 miles per hour.
They have incredible resiliency and don’t get in their own heads, which is what differentiates this squad from years past. They have overcome adversity in the regular season as well as the playoffs. They have won in overtime. They have won eight games in come-from-behind fashion. They got out of the second round, finally. They have beat offensive and defensive clubs. They have all the experience and skill to do it, they just need to go win the damn thing!
Prediction: Avalanche Win 5-3
- Cale has a 3 point night
- MacKinnon has a 3 point night
- Third or fourth line gets a gritty early goal!
Got my stepdad a Gabe Landeskog Authentic Alternate Jersey for Father’s day, giving it to him hopefully before he reads this article! #GoAvs #SmallThings #SCF #Game2#LordStanleysCup
Happy
100 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
Average Rating