Lightning Win Game 5, Extend Series vs Avalanche
The Tampa Bay Lightning have sent the Stanley Cup Final back to Florida.
Friday’s Game 5 was a must-win for the back-to-back champions, and the Bolts did what they needed to do to extend the Cup Final to a sixth game.
The Bolts bounced back from what some believe to be a controversial ending to Game 4 to capture their second win in the last three games. Defenseman Jan Rutta got the party started late in the first period to give the Lightning the first lead of the contest.
Throughout the game, Tampa would never trail Colorado. The Avs did tie the game at 1-1, and then again at 2-2 when Cale Makar scored early in the third period, but each time they did so, the Lightning had an answer.
The Lightning won Game 5 to force a sixth game.
The final answer was from forward Ondrej Palat, who scored with 6:22 remaining in regulation. From there, the Bolts closed the door and won the game, 3-2.
This was the first game in several weeks where I didn’t feel as though the play of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy decided the outcome. Recently, and even more than usual, his underwhelming performances lead to losses, while the Lightning have won when he is stellar.
The 27-year-old did have a good outing statistically, but he looked uncomfortable, often searching for the puck or making an unorthodox save. With that said, he stopped 35 of 37 shots, and the Bolts will take that every night.
Where I believe Tampa Bay won the game was in the special teams department. Palat’s game-winning goal was only the second power play tally of the series for the Lightning, which is a huge boost in a big moment.
In addition, the Avalanche went 0-2 with the man advantage, and that is a gigantic win for the Bolts. Colorado’s power play has been lethal in this series, so slowing it down and taking advantage of their own opportunities were the driving forces behind this Lightning win.
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Game 6 between Lightning and Avalanche will be Sunday night, as Tampa Bay looks to stave off elimination again and force a Game 7.