By Mark Pukalo
The Tampa Bay Lightning have the formula. It's proven.
The question that they must answer in the next two weeks is if that magical recipe can work against another speedy, talented, prolific offensive team.
It took the Bolts a little time to slow down the second-highest scoring team in the league and the NHL's top power play during the first round - giving up one goal over nearly the final 100 minutes of the series to dispatch Toronto.
Tampa Bay then allowed three goals combined in a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers, the Presidents' Trophy winners and the top scoring team during the regular season (4.11).
The Lightning lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals before limiting the New York Rangers to one even-strength goal in the final four to become the first team since the mid 1980s to reach three straight Stanley Cup finals.
Three very good offensive teams down. One to go. While winning the first title in the Bubble was very difficult and winning two in a row was a quite a feat, this road will be the most impressive if they can complete the journey.
The Colorado Avalanche had failed as the Western Conference favorite the previous two years, but they have finally reached the final and they are deeper and more experienced.
Center Nathan MacKinnon is one of the league's best players and young Cale Makar is right on the heels of the Bolts' Victor Hedman among the NHL's best defensemen. Forwards Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog put up big numbers offensively every year and center Nazem Kadri is having a great season, but his status is up in the air due to an upper-body injury.
The Bolts must do the same thing they did once control of the last three series was seized. They limited the bad turnovers which fed the high-octane offenses, they kept the puck to the outside as much as possible and won board battles to make the opposing top players play defense.
Let the world's best goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy win you another championship without making 40 saves each contest. That's the ticket. The Avalanche are averaging 40.7 shots per game in the playoffs and a league-best 4.64 goals. Colorado's power play was seventh in the regular season at 24 percent.
But the Lightning can score with them, especially because the advantage in goal is the biggest in the series. Darcy Kuemper is a solid netminder and Pavel Francouz did just fine when he was hurt against Edmonton in the Western final. They still can't rival the Big Cat.
The Avs challenge will be even tougher if Brayden Point can return from a lower-body injury, which kept him out of the last two series. Tampa Bay will score goals. But they must have the puck more, as they did against the Rangers once they took over. That will be the key. It can't be an up and down game with odd-man rushes.
Coach Jon Cooper was asked all year about the loss of the Bolts' pesky third line - Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman. He may have found one in the last series as Anthony Cirelli, flanked by Brandon Hagel and Alex Killorn, were fantastic defensively. Honestly, their best defense was their forecheck. They kept the puck away from New York's best players. Can they do it again against MacKinnon?
Everyone has stepped up for the Lightning. Captain Steven Stamkos has nine goals, Nikita Kucherov leads the team in points, Ondrej Palat has done a little of everything, Nick Paul has had some monster shifts and others have done their thing up front. Victor Hedman did not play well against Florida, but was big in the other two series, Eric Cernak might have been the best defenseman in the first three rounds, Ryan McDonagh keeps doing Ryan McDonagh things and Mikhail Sergachev saved his best two contests for last two.
There's no reason it can't continue. It may just come down to whether this is Colorado's time. The top players may just cancel each other out. It might be decided by production from the supporting players. If Point is re-introduced to the lineup, you wonder whether he goes back with Kucherov and Palat or joins Paul and Colton while Corey Perry returns to the fourth unit.
Cooper has had the right answers for three seasons. Does he have a few more for Colorado?
My thought is this. If the Lightning can get one of the first two games in Denver, the Findaways will get it done somehow, some way. I don't think they can dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole again. But you can doubt this group of players at your peril. Whatever happens, they are a special group.
The first three rounds were nerve-wracking for me, even after winning two Cups. Did not want the run to end against any of those teams. I think I can sit and enjoy this series. Two fantastic teams, incredible skill and history on the line.
Enjoy, hockey world. This might be the most entertaining series in a long time.
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