The Colorado Avalanche is a win in its first Stanley Cup title since 2001, thanks to a goal from Nazem Kadri overtime on Wednesday. Although two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning doesn’t think he should have counted.
Kadri scored at 12:02 of the extra period to give Colorado a 3-2 victory in the fourth game of the Stanley Cup final.
Without specifically saying that Tampa Bay felt Colorado had too many men on the ice for the winning goal, Lightning coach Jon Cooper suggested the goal should not have been allowed. “We’re all in this together. Players, coaches, referees, everyone. But this one will sting a lot more than others,” he said.
“It will be difficult for me to talk … I will talk to you [on Thursday]. You’ll see what I mean when you see the winning goal. And my heart breaks for the players. Because we probably still have to play. “
The NHL issued a statement saying the sanction is a lawsuit that can be made by officers on the ice. All four referees said they did not see too many men on the ice in the winning play. The call is not subject to video review.
Back in the lineup after being sidelined since June 4 with a thumb injury, Kadri skated on Andrei Vasilevskiy and placed a shot under the goalkeeper’s right arm to give Colorado a 3-point lead. -1 in the series. “That was a big win. A tough win,” said Kadri, who had been sidelined since being injured in the third game of the Western Conference Finals against Edmonton.
“I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. I thought it was time to join the party.”
The Avalanche celebrates its victory. Photo: Eliot J Schechter / NHLI / Getty Images
Avalanche beat Lightning 11-3 in overtime. Vasilevsky stopped Logan O’Connor on a breakaway and Colorado had a shot that bounced off the post and another hit the crossbar before Kadri finished.
Anthony Cirelli scored 36 seconds into the game and Victor Hedman also scored in the Lightning regulations. They advanced 2-1 in the third period. Nathan MacKinnon scored on a power play in the second period for Colorado and Andrew Cogliano equalized early in the third.
Darcy Kuemper, retired from the third game after conceding five goals in a 6-2 defeat, stopped 37 shots and assisted on the winning goal for the Avalanche. Vasilevsky finished with 35 stops. He has recovered from allowing 11 goals in Games 1 and 2 to limit the Avalanche high goal to five in the last two games.
The Lightning are trying to become the first team to win at least three consecutive Stanley Cup titles since the New York Islanders won four in a row between 1980 and 83. The Avalanche last won the Cup in 2001. .
The Lightning had recovered from playing poorly in Games 1 and 2 to make it interesting by neutralizing Colorado’s speed, limiting Avalanche’s goal opportunities and increasing pressure on Kuemper, who was barely tested. when he faced 16 shots in a 7-0. Game 2.
Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay was injured after the game. Photo: Geoff Burke / USA Today Sports
Cirelli’s goal was the fastest in a Stanley Cup final since 2006 and Lightning set the tone for another busy night for Kuemper by beating Avalanche 17-4 in the opening period. Two of Colorado’s shots were fired while skating with a lack of hand, killing Tampa Bay’s first power play.
MacKinnon’s first goal of the series, his 12th in the playoffs, cleared out Colorado’s opening deficit at 5:17 of the second period. The Avalanche equalized again when Cogliano, assisted by Nico Sturm and Darren Helm, scored on a deflection less than three minutes from the third.
Game 5 is Friday night in Denver, where Colorado won the first two games in the series and is 7-2 this postseason.