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The Stanley Cup will be in Denver for Game 5 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. After taking Game 4 in overtime, the Colorado Avalanche can close out the series with one more win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Avalanche are coming off a dramatic 3-2 overtime win in Tampa, which gave them a 3-1 series lead. Colorado goaltender Darcy Kuemper shook off a shaky start in Game 3 and stopped 37 of 39 Lightning shots, and Nazem Kadri came back from injury and scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Now, the Avs have the chance to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001.
Tampa Bay's run of consecutive championships is one loss away from ending. In order to keep their season alive, the Lightning will have to do something that just one other team has done this postseason - beat the Avalanche at home. Colorado is 7-2 in Ball Arena throughout these playoffs, and they largely dominated Tampa Bay there in the first two games of this series. Andrei Vasilevskiy bounced back in front of the Amalie Arena crowd, and the Bolts need him to steal one in Game 5.
With the Stanley Cup on the line for the Avalanche, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC and you can stream the game on fuboTV (try for free).
Dial it all the way in. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/QSilTDN6q3
Dial it all the way in. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/9KvosFVhHt
Round 4️⃣ Game 5️⃣#FindAWay #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/AgmPCmKsT2
Give it our all. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/34G8ddalJn
Eric Cernak and Anthony Cirelli are taking warmups for the Lightning. Brayden Point is not. Defenseman Anthony Richard, a black ace, is also out there for Tampa Bay. On the Avalanche's end of the ice, Andre Burakovsky is absent from the warmup.
Pucks up to get pucks down. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/ggD0HrE22i
Darcy Kuemper hasn't been at the top of his game in this postseason, but he turned in a rock solid performance in Game 4. One bad goal aside, Kuemper stopped 37 of the 39 shots against him, and he saved 1.20 goals above expected, according to the Natural Stat Trick. If Kuemper plays like that again in Game 5, the Avs will be lifting the Cup over their heads by the end of the night.
The Lightning are pretty banged up coming into this game. Tampa Bay forwards Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli, as well as defenseman Eric Cernak, are all dealing with injuries ahead of Game 5. For the Avalanche, forward Andre Burakovsky is a "possibility," according to head coach Jared Bednar. He hasn't played since taking a puck to the hand in Game 2. We'll bee keeping an eye out for those players in pregame warmups.
The Cup is in the building! @Jackie_Redmond and Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_TV) get you all set for Game 5 on #StanleyCup Live presented by @NewAmsterdam. https://t.co/AUk2igxKY0
The Lightning have been outplayed in several areas throughout this series, but they have been crushed when it comes to special teams. Tampa Bay has converted on just one of its 14 power plays in this series, and Colorado has scored on six of its 13 man advantages. Considering two of these games have reached overtime, that stark special teams contrast makes a huge difference.
Game 5 of the #StanleyCup Final 🔜 Who's coming out with the win!? 📺: 8p ET on ABC, @ESPNPlus and @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/SwFPHRvgm8
Who's it gonna be? Let us know who you think scores the first goal for us tonight using #LightningStrikes and you could win a custom #Bolts t-shirt presented by @AdventHealth. Rules: https://t.co/25rxF2rNSU pic.twitter.com/wPBgyE93Ng
The only time an NHL team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final was in 1942, when the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled it off against the Detroit Red Wings. On top of that, teams who began the series on the road, like Tampa Bay did, are 0-25 when trailing 3-1. The Bolts face some very long odds, and they have to overcome them against a machine of a team in the Avalanche.
It’s time for tonight’s roll call, WHERE ARE YA TONIGHT? https://t.co/jk4pn7G41K
Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is just under one hour away, and the Colorado Avalanche are 60 minutes away from winning it all for the first time in 21 years. The Tampa Bay Lightning must stave off elimination in Denver in order to keep their hopes of a third consecutive Stanley Cup alive. If this game is anything like Game 4, we'll be in for a good one.
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