Skip to content
Darcy Kuemper grinned.
Finally, a day after saying that he and his Colorado Avalanche goalkeeping partner Pavel Francouz usually get a text message the night before a game telling them who’s starting, he admitted it wasn’t such a big secret, getting intos Going to the Stanley Cup Finals.
“I might have known a little longer,” he said.
There was no goaltender controversy then, and there is no goaltender controversy now for the Avalanche, who defeated back-to-back defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime to win the opener of their best-of-seven series. Kuemper made 20 saves from 23 shots and has the confidence of coach Jared Bednar going into Game 2 on Saturday night.
“I was pretty happy with his performance,” said Bednar. “Darcy is a guy we’ve leaned heavily on all year. That’s why we relied on him for this job.”
CLOCK | Burakovsky buries the OT winner in Game 1:
.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Andre Burakovsky’s goal in overtime gives Colorado a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay in the opening game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Avalanche played it like it was some sort of debate between Kuemper, their all-season starter who has missed time in these playoffs through injury, and Francouz, who stepped in 6-0. They know they’re one of only five teams with options in NHL history to have two different goalies each win at least five games during a playoff run.
Kuemper insists he is now fully healthy. That was evident in a couple of key stops he made on three successful penalty kills in Colorado in Game 1, which was another step for him to make the eye injury a thing of the past.
“It was an unfortunate incident on the first lap,” he said. “I’m glad I got through it and everything’s back to normal now so there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s not easy to watch some of these games but the team was so great it just worried me again to get sharp and get well.”
Kadri, Cogliano skating before game 2
Injured Avalanche forwards Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano went ice skating with an assistant coach on Thursday after missing Game 1.
Kadri ran with a stick in hand for the first time since injuring his right thumb when he hit the boards on the last lap. He hasn’t fired a shot in 45 minutes on the ice.
Cogliano took a puck on his right hand in Colorado’s series clincher in the Western Conference Finals against Edmonton. Notably, he used his left hand to shake hands with Oilers players and coaches.
Still, Cogliano seems more ready to face the Tampa Bay Lightning than Kadri, who was injured in a hit by Evander Kane that resulted in a one-game suspension.
Flash unimpressed
Minutes after losing in overtime, Patrick Maroon scoffed at the idea that it was some kind of gut punch for the Lightning.
“Two really good teams are going to work,” he said. “This is Game 1. We just need to refocus and be ready for Game 2.”
Few teams in recent NHL history are better at this, which is why the Lightning are unfazed by chasing the Avalanche. The two-time defending champions have won 11 consecutive series since the start of their remarkable post-season run in 2020; Tampa has lost openers in five of them — including twice this postseason — and the experience has steeled them for situations like this.
The players wasted no time moving on to Game 2 on Saturday night. After all, Tampa Bay roared back from a 3-1 deficit in the first half to level the opener before Andre Burakovsky’s overtime winner. Elements from successful sections of Game 1 can feed into the team’s future tweaks and changes.
“We’ve done a great job of making adjustments after defeats so we’ll try to do that,” said captain Steven Stamkos. “The mindset is we’re here to win a series and you don’t know when that’s going to come: four games, five, six, seven. You never know.”
given point
Lightning star Brayden Point got off to a somewhat slow start in Game 1 but that’s understandable given he hadn’t played in a month due to a right leg injury. Despite the long layoff, Point skated for almost 18 minutes, assisting Nick Paul’s goal and drawing a penalty.
Having started the series in Tampa Bay’s third row, Point is now a candidate to move closer to his usual front row role.
Cooper liked what he saw in Point in the opening game, although it’s clear the Lightning’s leading scorer hasn’t returned to that form in the last two playoffs.
“He handled it pretty well,” Cooper said. “He fixes his game and his hands. I can assume he’ll get more Ice Age as he’s feeling better.”
Extra rest
Neither team trained Thursday with an extra day between Games 1 and 2. Some Avalanche players trained on the rink, but the priority is rest as almost all expect a long streak.
“In a seven-game streak, you can’t be caught admiring a win or whatever you want to call it,” said Colorado defenseman Bowen Byram. “We will prepare in the next few days and get back on the road.”