2021 Stanley Cup Final: 4 Takeaways from Game 2, including Coleman’s magic
There were a handful of big takeaways to digest from Game 2 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.
Two more wins is all the Tampa Bay Lightning now need in order to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions following their big 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
It was a contest the Habs actually dominated as they outshot the Bolts 43-23, but a stellar goaltending performance from the Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, coupled with one of the best postseason goals you’ll ever see by Blake Coleman, ensured that the Canadiens will head back to Montreal with a 2-0 series deficit.
This was a tough, tough loss for Montreal who made it a tied game at 10:36 in the second period after Anthony Cirelli put Tampa on the board first, with Nick Suzuki recording his sixth goal of the postseason.
Despite getting plenty of pucks on net, the Canadiens just couldn’t solve Vasilevskiy and Coleman’s sensational, diving goal with two seconds left in the second period was a body blow that the Habs couldn’t recover from.
It remained a close game in the third but a costly miscommunication between Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson led to Ondrej Palat wrapping the game up for the Bolts, and Montreal will now need to use playing back on home ice as a motivation tool to try and get back in this series.
Before that, though, let’s go through the biggest takeaways from Game 2 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning…
4 Takeaways from Game 2 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final
4. Missed Opportunity
If the Tampa Bay Lightning go on to win the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final, then there is no doubt that the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the hockey world will look back on Game 2 as the big turning point in the series.
After being dominated in Game 1, the Habs bounced back in a big way in Game 2 on Wednesday, playing the style of hockey that got them so far this postseason, while their intensity levels were more at the level you would expect in the heat of postseason battle.
They controlled the puck, they played solid defense, they were outstanding on the penalty kill, they were physical and they outshot the Lightning 43-23, creating a plethora of high-danger scoring chances and getting plenty of traffic to the net.
However, there was one big problem and that problem was called Andrei Vasilevskiy, who absolutely stood on his head with 42 saves, coming up huge in the game’s most important moments and he was the reason Tampa Bay won that game to take a 2-0 series lead.
Costly mistakes also defined Game 2 for Montreal as Carey Price let a Anthony Cirelli shot get through him in the second period, while Joel Edmundson’s errant pass allowed Ondrej Palat to score the game-deciding goal.
You can’t make those kind of mistakes and expect to be successful in the postseason, and you also need to win when you are that dominant. If the Habs do go on to lose, then they will look back on Game 2 with plenty of regret given that it was there for the taking for them.
3. Caufield-Suzuki-Toffoli line a boost for Habs
There were plenty of players who had to up their game for the Canadiens in the wake of Game 1, but the most pressure was on the second line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli, given that they are the main drivers of this Montreal offense.
Well, they responded alright in Game 2, with all three producing arguably their best outing of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs so far, with Suzuki in particular absolutely lighting it up and emerging as one of the best players on the ice.
He finished the game with nine shots on goal, including the only goal of the game for the Habs which came in the second period. With Montreal on the power play, Suzuki used a screen to backhand the puck through traffic and through Andrei Vasilevskiy.
It was a real statement game for Suzuki who also showed his defensive prowess with a sublime hustle play to get back and halt a Nikita Kucherov breakaway attempt, which kept the Canadiens alive in the contest at the time.
Cole Caufield's (@colecaufield) parents know a good backcheck when they see one. 👏 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/5CEhTQ0a8v
— NHL (@NHL) July 1, 2021
Caufield also impressed and he had a similar highlight-reel play by charging all the way up ice to backcheck Anthony Cirelli, highlighting his defensive awareness and proving that, like Suzuki, he isn’t just an offensive juggernaut.
In all, the trio combined for 14 shots, four hits and two blocked shots while all logging over 15 minutes of total ice time, and the Canadiens will need that line firing on all cylinders in all three zones if they are to get back into this series.
2. Vasilevskiy’s Signature Game
Elite goaltending wins championships and that’s part of the reason why the Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2020 Stanley Cup, and it will be a big piece of the puzzle if they repeat as champions this season.
Every great team needs an absolute stud between the pipes, and the Bolts have that in Andrei Vasilevskiy who was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this year following yet another stellar regular season.
He’s establishing himself as a Conn Smythe contender too with another impressive postseason resume, and his signature game (so far, anyway) came in Game 2 as he won the contest for the Lightning on his own.
On a night where the Bolts were not at their best and were guilty of playing sloppy hockey, Vasilevskiy stood on his head and stopped almost everything that came with his way, with a weak backhand shot from Nick Suzuki on the power play in the second period the only blot on his copybook.
That aside, however, the 26-year-old was an absolute machine, stopping 42 of the 43 shots he faced, including a great poke check to halt a Nick Suzuki breakaway in the first period, a superb save through traffic to deny the same player in the second, and an incredible stick save to stop a deflected Ben Chiarot shot.
Vasilevskiy faced a lot more traffic in Game 2 than he did in Game 1, but he was up to the test and this was a game he won on his own, which every great goalie needs to do during the course of a series. If the Lightning can finish the job, then Vasilevskiy’s stellar Game 2 performance will go down as a huge moment in this series.
1. Coleman, Goodrow the Difference Makers
When the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow at the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline, giving up a combined total of two First Round picks and a blue-chip prospect in Nolan Foote, eyebrows were raised.
After all, many wondered where both players would fit on a stacked and star-studded Lightning lineup, while the general consensus was that the Bolts overpaid hugely for two guys that would likely be bottom-six forwards.
Well, while both Coleman and Goodrow do indeed ply their trade on the third-line, they are proving by the day that Tampa Bay General Manager Julien BriseBois was right to give up as much as he did for the pair.
Giving the Bolts the grit and the tough underbelly they were missing in so many of their past postseason failures, Coleman and Goodrow were huge contributors to last year’s Stanley Cup success inside The Bubble, and they are well on their way to helping their team go back-to-back.
The two combined for one of the greatest goals in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday, with Goodrow picking up the puck before sliding a pass across to Coleman who dove full-length to knock a buzzer-beater past Carey Price with his backhand.
It was a crucial goal that crushed the spirits of the Canadiens and gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead heading into the third period, a lead they never gave up and they are now just two wins away from repeating as Stanley Cup Champions.
The goal itself will live on in the rich history of the NHL, and it will go down as one of the most important goals in franchise history for Tampa Bay if they can finish the job.
But it was also a perfect illustration of just how important Coleman and Goodrow have been to this Lightning team, with the former having recorded 22 points in 45 postseason games with the Bolts while the latter just brings a different dimension to this team.
Next. Blake Coleman's goal one of the best. dark
They aren’t All-Stars, they likely won’t win any MVP awards, but both Coleman and Goodrow have been difference makers for the Tampa Bay Lightning and they can already be considered the final pieces of the championship puzzle for this franchise, which is now closing in on its second cup in as many years.