The Colorado Avalanche is on the verge of its first Stanley Cup title since 2001, thanks to a goal from Nazem Kadri overtime.
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 Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final and place the Avalanche within a victory of its first championship in more than two decades .
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 go a lot further than the others,” Cooper said.
“It will be difficult for me to talk … I will talk to you [Thursday]. You’ll see what I mean when you see the winning goal, “Cooper added.” And I’m heartbroken by the players. Because we probably still have to play. “
This is the most compelling sequence I’ve seen so far.
As Nazem Kadri (the scorer of victory) climbs the ice, MacKinnon takes more than 5 seconds to get back on the bench and is clearly much further 5 feet away. pic.twitter.com/9ede4C6ZCU
– @ KaileyMizelle
The NHL issued a statement saying the sanction is a lawsuit that can be made by officers on the ice. Each of the four referees said he did not see too many men in the ice situation on 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.
“It was a big win. A tough win,” said Kadri, who had been sidelined since injury in the third game of the Western Conference Finals against Edmonton.
“I’ve been waiting for this my whole life,” added the Colorado center. “I thought it was time to join the party.”
TARGET | Winner of Kadri’s overtime in Game 4:
Avalanche Edge Lighting with Kadri’s overtime goal to take the lead 3-1 in the Stanley Cup final
Colorado defeats Tampa 3-2 when Nazem Kadri scores the winner of overtime in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final. The Avalanche is on a way to dethrone Lightning, a two-time defending champion.
Avalanche beat Lightning 11-3 in overtime. Vasilevskiy stopped Logan O’Connor in a breakaway, and Colorado had a resounding shot on the post and another hit the crossbar before Kadri finished it off.
Game 5 is Friday night in Denver, where Colorado won the first two games of the series and is 7-2 this postseason.
Anthony Cirelli scored 36 seconds into the game and Victor Hedman also scored in the Lightning rules. 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 conceding 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 lifted the Cup in 2001.
The Lightning have 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 only faced 16 shots in a 7-0. in game 2.
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 his short hand, killing Tampa Bay’s first power play of the night.
The first goal of the MacKinnon series, the 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 third.
Kadri returned to the lineup after losing four games. He had been out since injuring his thumb when he was tackled by Evander Kane in Game 3 of the Colorado Sweepstakes in Edmonton in the Western Conference Finals.
Kane received a major penalty and a match was suspended.
Mikko Rantanen and Cale Maker attended the MacKinnon goal, giving all 20 of them this postseason, a franchise record for a single year of the playoffs. Peter Stastny had 19 with Quebec in 1985.