TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning took the ice Wednesday evening seeking to even the Stanley Cup Final at two video games apiece, giving them momentum when the series returns to Colorado.
But it wasn’t to be because the Lightning could not defend their house ice, shedding 3-2 in overtime. Colorado utterly dominated the overtime interval and lead the series 3-1 over the Lightning. The Avs can now clinch the Stanley Cup on Friday evening in Denver.
Before the sport began, the Colorado Avalanche introduced Darcy Kuemper could be again in objective after he was pulled for giving up 5 objectives to the Lightning in Game 3. The Avalanche additionally stated Nazem Kadri could be again in the lineup after not enjoying for 18 days, although he could be enjoying with a solid.
When the puck lastly dropped, the Lightning wasted no time getting on the scoreboard when Anthony Cirelli put Tampa Bay on the board pushing a rebound shot previous Kuemper, making the rating 1-0 simply 36 seconds into the sport.
Kuemper misplaced his masks on the scoring play, nevertheless it was a authorized shot since Cirelli’s scoring alternative was rapid after the masks got here off.
The Lightning saved hammering away on the Avalanche, placing up 7 photographs by the primary 11 minutes whereas holding Colorado to only a single shot.
As the primary interval moved previous the midway level, Nick Paul had a shot on objective when he grabbed an Avalanche turnover in the defensive zone, however he could not get it previous Kuemper and the rating remained 1-0 because the clock wound down previous 7 minutes to go in the interval.
Tampa’s protection was answering the bell by the early a part of the primary interval, blocking seven photographs in the primary 14 minutes. This comes after the Lighting blocked 27 photographs in Game 3.
As Tampa continued to hammer photographs at Kuemper, he was holding robust having allowed only one objective on 12 photographs by the primary 17 minutes of the sport. That’s when Colorado’s Darren Helm was hit with a 2-minute penalty for interference, placing Tampa on the ability play.
Colorado’s wonderful penalty-killing unit once more turned Tampa away because the Lightning’s power-play unit continued to wrestle to get something to go their method. The Avs’ unit was so good they held Tampa to simply a few photographs on objective throughout the energy play.
Tampa managed two extra photographs on objective because the clock hit all zeroes to finish the primary interval with Tampa forward, 1-0.
GALLERY: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Colorado Avalanche – Game 4
The Lightning outshot Colorado 17-4 and blocked one other 12 photographs in the primary interval. Kuemper was holding robust regardless of the early objective. How lengthy Kuemper might proceed to play lights out could be the important thing to the Avs’ possibilities transferring ahead.
Tampa got here out scorching once more in the second interval, pushing the offense towards Kuemperwho continued to carry robust for Colorado. The Avs returned the favor and the Big Cat for Tampa, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made his presence identified when he stopped a shot off Cale Makar.
With 16:03 to go in the second interval, Colorado went on the ability play when Tampa’s Victor Hedman was despatched to the penalty field for interference.
And similar to virtually each different power-play alternative, Colorado was in a position to put the puck previous Vasileskiy to tie the sport at 1-1. The Avs objective was scored by Gabriel Landeskog who has gotten on the board in earlier video games as properly.
A couple of minutes later, Tampa Bay was placed on the ability play when Colorado’s Bowen Byram was hit with a hooking penalty and despatched to the field with 13:48 left in the second interval.
After the Lighting have been unable to get something happening the ability play, the groups have been going backwards and forwards till Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman put the proverbial biscuit in the basket, giving the Lightning a 2-1 lead with 9 minutes left in the second interval.
Right after the Lightning objective, Tampa’s captain, Steven Stamkos was hit with a two-minute hooking penalty sending him to the field and bringing out Colorado’s lethal power-play unit.
The Lightning’s penalty kill unit held on till the ability play ended with the Big Cat snagging a shot from Colorado’s Nathan McKinnon.
Colorado elevated its photographs on objective all through the second interval, narrowing the hole to 24-18 in photographs with 4 minutes left in the interval.
Tampa did not get by the interval unscathed as middle Anthony Cirelli suffered some kind of arm damage and skated proper off the ice and into the locker room as the ultimate minute wound off the clock. With Brayden Point unlikely to return in the series, if Cirelli is injured and out, Tampa could be down two facilities transferring ahead.
At the top of two, Tampa held a 2-1 lead as they labored to even the series 2-2 towards the Avs.
Tampa Bay received good news as they got here out on the ice, Cirelli was again on the ice and able to play the third interval however did not take the preliminary faceoff for the Lightning.
Colorado got here out with renewed vigor in the third interval as they pushed the velocity of the sport, attempting to get Tampa out of their consolation zone. And simply 3 minutes into the third, Colorado’s Nico Sturm tipped it into the objective to tie the sport 2-2.
Sturm’s objective was the primary even-strength objective Tampa had allowed because the first spherical of the playoffs.
Tampa struggled to get the puck out of the defensive finish and could not convert when Kuemper misplaced his keep on with about quarter-hour to go in the sport.
The crowd at Amalie Arena was as nervous as a long-tail cat in a room filled with rocking chairs because the clock went underneath 14 minutes to go in the sport.
For the following ten minutes, neither crew might get on the board. The Lightning and Avalanche exchanged photographs on objective and neither was in a position to get something previous the respective goalies, once more leaving the Tampa crowd on the sting of their seats.
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Tampa Bay went on the offensive because the clock wound down underneath a minute, however could not get something previous Kuemper. The clock hit all zeroes and similar to Game 1, the Lightning and Avalanche headed for overtime.
It’s the second overtime recreation so far in the Stanley Cup Final, which was the primary time that had occurred since 2016 and simply the fifteenth time it occurred in the historical past of the Stanley Cup Final.
Colorado began the overtime in excessive gear placing the stress on Tampa’s protection early and infrequently. Still, Tampa would not go away in the additional interval as each groups saved jockeying for the successful shot.
Vasilevskiy made an enormous save for the Lightning on a Colorado breakaway because the clock went underneath quarter-hour in overtime. It was his twelfth save on 13 breakaways in the 2022 playoffs.
Tampa was only a step behind because the groups saved going up and down the ice in the overtime. Colorado needed the objective shortly and Tampa stayed true to their gameplan because the overtime ticked under 13 minutes.
The Big Cat was virtually single-handedly retaining the Lightning in the sport as he made save after save towards Colorado’s assault in overtime. The Lightning struggled to get the puck out of the Colorado offensive zone. The Avs hit the put up twice in the overtime because the clock went underneath ten minutes.
And then out of nowhere, the Avalanche put the puck proper previous Vasilevskiy and Colorado took Game 4 and a 3-1 lead in the series.
Vasilevskiy did all the pieces he might to maintain the Lightning in the sport, however Tampa was utterly outplayed in overtime by Colorado in each aspect of the sport till the ultimate shot went in.
