The Colorado Avalanche are Stanley Cup champions for the first since 2001, thanks to a resiliency that had eluded them in recent years.
The Avalanche rallied for a victory for the 10th time in the playoffs to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 Sunday night and end the two-time champions’ reign.
Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon had his best game of the series with a goal and an assist in the second period to help the Avalanche clinch the franchise’s third Stanley Cup with a 16-4 playoff record.
The Lightning, who were trying to send the series back to Denver for Game 7, got off to a good start when captain Steven Stamkos scored at 3:48 of the first period after a Colorado turnover.
But MacKinnon tied it up at 1:54 of the second period on a one-timer during a delayed penalty. The Lightning had argued that they touched the puck after the penalty, which should have resulted in the play being called dead, but the referees disagreed.
Artturi Lehkonen beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy at 12:28 to give the Avalanche their first regulation lead since Game 3. It ended up being his fourth game-winning goal and second consecutive series clincher.
The Avalanche have steadily improved since finishing last overall in 2016-17 and had finished second, first and third overall the past three regular seasons.
Colorado got knocked out in the second round the last three postseasons, last year being particularly difficult because the Avalanche lost in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights after taking a 2-0 series lead.
General manager Joe Sakic, the Avalanche’s captain during the franchise’s 1996 and 2001 championships, spent the 2022 trade deadline adding grit on the blue line and improving the penalty killing. Defenseman Josh Manson helped with both, and forwards Lehkonen, Nico Sturm and Andrew Cogliano kill penalties.
The moves also helped give the Avalanche the depth to overcome a season-ending injury to defenseman Sam Girard and missed games by Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky and Cogliano. They swept the Nashville Predators in the first round and the Edmonton Oilers in the conference finals, and beat the St. Louis Blues in six games in the second round.
The Lightning, who had to remake their team depth because of salary cap issues, reached the Final for the third season in a row, getting past the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. But they won only Games 3 and 5 to miss out on the NHL’s first three-peat since the 1980s.
Cale Makar wins Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP
Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar was voted the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after recording 29 points.
Makar (23 years, 239 days) became the youngest defenseman in 52 years to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and third overall to do so at age 23 or younger, following Bobby Orr with the 1970 Bruins (22 years, 51 days) and Serge Savard with the 1969 Canadiens (23 years, 102 days).
Around the rinks
Erik Johnson, who has been with the Avalanche since 2011, was the second person to be handed the Stanley Cup after captain Gabriel Landeskog first lifted it. He dealt with injuries in recent years. “Last year, I thought I might have to retire, and here I am Stanley Cup champion with some of my best friends in the world,” he told ESPN. “I’m so grateful. I can’t believe it.” … NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly handled the postgame presentations because commissioner Gary Bettman has tested positive for COVID-19.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stanley Cup Finals: Avalanche beat Lightning to win championship
