The puck drops on the 2021/22 Stanley Cup Final this Wednesday, June 15th as the Colorado Avalanche battle it out with the Tampa Bay Lightning in a best-of-seven series. The Lightning are aiming to capture their third straight Stanley Cup while the Avalanche, who have home-ice advantage, are hoping to win the silverware for the second time. The last time they were crowned NHL champions was in the 2000/01 season.
If Tampa Bay should succeed, they will become the first NHL club to hoist the cup three straight times since the New York Islanders won it four times in a row from 1979/80 to 1982/83.
Colorado finished the regular season with a record of 56-19-7 for 119 points as they topped both the Central Division and the Western Conference. The Lightning weren’t far behind as they racked up 110 points at 51-23-8 and finished third in the Atlantic Division and tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference.
The teams met twice during the 2021/22 campaign with the Avalanche taking both games. During the playoffs, Tampa Bay came from behind 3-2 in their opening series against the Toronto Maple Leafs to edge them in seven games and then swept the Florida Panthers in four straight contests. They then dug themselves out of a 2-0 series deficit to beat the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Avalanche took out the Nashville Predators in four straight to open their playoffs before doubling the St. Louis Blues 4-2 in the second round. They then swept the Edmonton Oilers in four straight in the Western Conference Final. This leaves the Lightning with a 12-5 record in the postseason while the Avalanche are 12-2.
Colorado have been out of action for eight days leading up to the Stanley Cup Final as their series against Edmonton ended on June 6th. After beating Nashville in the first round they had a seven-day break before resuming play in the second round.
Both squads enter the Final with a question mark over one of their top forwards as Brayden Point is currently sidelined with an injury for Tampa Bay while Nazem Kadri is out for Colorado. However, both players could see some action later in the showdown.
Forward Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado in playoff goals with 11 in 14 games and also leads the team with five power-play markers. Defenseman Cale Makar leads the team in points however with 22 (5 goals and 17 assists).
For Tampa Bay, forward Nikita Kucherov tops the scoring parade with 7 goals and 16 assists for 23 points in 17 outings and enters the series on a five-game scoring streak which consists of 3 goals and 3 assists. Forward Ondrej Palat has also been hot for Tampa with 16 points from 8 goals and 8 assists. Forward Steven Stamkos leads the side in goals though with 9.
As far as goaltending goes, Colorado’s Darcy Kuemper was injured in the first game of the Western Conference Final against Edmonton and was replaced by Pavel Francouz for the final three games. However, Kuemper is expected to be healthy for the Final. Kuemper is carrying a 6-2 record with a 2.65 goals-against-average in the postseason with an 89.7 save percentage while Francouz has gone 6-0 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a save percentage of 90.6 with one shutout.
Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone all the way in net for Tampa Bay so far with a 12-5 record to accompany his 2.27 goals-against average and 92.8 save percentage. He also has one shutout. Vasilevskiy was named the MVP of last season’s playoffs and has a career postseason mark of 61-34 in 98 postseason contests with seven shutouts, a 2.24 goals-against average and a 92.5 save percentage.
Colorado has scored on 14 of their 25 power-play chances in this year’s playoffs for a success rate of 31.1 per cent after going 67-for-279 during the regular season to rank seventh-best at 24 per cent.
Tampa Bay has a 2.41 goals-against average in the postseason and have conceded two or fewer goals in nine of their games. They allowed just one goal against in the final three games of their Eastern Conference Final series against the New York Rangers.
The oddsmakers at bet365 have listed the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup at -170 with the Tampa Bay Lightning at +150. There are also numerous wagers available for the individual games as well as other popular bets such as the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP), the correct score f the series and to win from behind etc.