The Colorado Avalanche got the start the team was looking for when they defeated Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime in Match 1 of the Stanley Cup final. Avalanche’s star trio with Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen showed the way, something that pleased coach Jared Bednar.
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The trio have often competed together in recent seasons, but due to the injury situation, Bednar has had to split them during parts of the playoffs. In the start of Game 1 against Tampa Bay, they were together again and showed their value as they combined for five points in the first period.
Avalanche had a 3-1 lead after the first period, but saw Tampa Bay come back in the second before the Swedish forward
André Burakovsky was responsible for the decision in sudden death.
Bednar says that it was important to start the series with a victory at home and hopefully set the tone for the rest of the series and that it was the team’s stars who stepped forward.
– It was extremely important. We always talk about your best players having to be the ones to show the way, Bednar tells NHL.com/sv about his star trio. Everyone was tagged during the match introduction and that those guys got the start they got (was gratifying). That’s why I moved Mikko up to that chain a little bit at the beginning of the match and then on a couple of later occasions, to see those guys play together and see what they could accomplish.
– I think they had a cruel night. All three played really well, both when they were together and when they were apart. Those guys need to make a difference in the match series.
Landeskog started the goal scorer in match 1 with his ninth goal in the playoffs. The 29-year-old Swedish team captain is in a shared second place in the internal points league together with MacKinnon and Rantanen, three points behind leading Cale Makar.
Video: COL-TBL, M1: Landeskog throws in the puck
MacKinnon is Colorado’s top scorer so far in the playoffs with 11 hits. The Canadian often had to go up against Anthony Cirelli and his chain in match 1; a tough match as Cirelli is a defensive center of rank. However, nothing that worries Bednar at the moment.
– I think it is inevitable that he will play a lot against Cirelli if that is the match (Jon Cooper) wants. I want to start with our regular starting players. You know Nate. He is not afraid to go up against anyone. He embraces those matches. There are other matchups that I like better or see as equivalent, but I will not break the flow of our game to avoid anything until I see that it does not work. If things work and the team is comfortable with that, then we drive on and do not try to run away from it.
Lightning has had an impressive ability to bounce back after a loss in the playoffs in recent seasons. Before the reigning champions lost the two opening games on away to New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, they had won 17 straight games after a loss.
According to Bednar, the team expects an onslaught from Tampa Bay in Game 2, but that Colorado will not deviate from its own style of play.
– We will focus on our game, says Bednar. We watched the match (match 1) and we liked large parts of it, and some parts we did not like. Some things we can adjust no matter how Tampa plays. We have a certain identity that we have to play to in order to be successful. We have learned that during this season in particular.
Avalanche had plenty of time to prepare both physically and mentally for the final series after beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 in matches in the Western Conference final. Bednar and his men looked through the Tampa Bay series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Rangers, and have learned a few lessons.
Video: COL-TBL, M1: Burakovsky decides match 1
– I would say that we learned a lot. We watched all of their match series, this is where we put the most time before the final, says Bednar. We saw the success the Rangers had in games 1 and 2, and looked at the factors we felt were the reasons why they did not succeed during the rest of the series.
– Tampa looked stronger and stronger in many different areas and they are comfortable playing tight and physical matches… There are some things we have to do to be successful and one of the teams we looked at a little extra was the Maple Leafs. It was a cruel series, a dynamic series and I see a lot of similarities in the Maple Leafs gameplay and their players and ourselves.
Match 2 is played on Sunday night Swedish time (drop 02:00) in Ball Arena in Denver and can be seen on Viasat and Viaplay.
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