Avalanche Roll To Fast Game 1 Start In Stanley Cup Final With Pair of Goals In Less Than 2 Minutes

Bruce Bennett. Getty Images.

Home ice advantage and extra rest have served the Colorado Avalanche well in Wednesday's Game 1 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final against the Lightning. After some stalemate early action and killing off a Tampa Bay power play, the Avs' attack got to work with a couple goals in fewer than two minutes.

The first came from Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog, who sneaked a shot just underneath the arm of Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy:

Advertisement

Hardly any more time passed before Valeri Nichushkin followed suit and lit the lamp, beating Vasilevskiy through the five-hole to make the score 2-0.

Ball Arena is absolutely rocking. On the heels of a sweep of the Oilers in the Conference Final and several postseasons of disappointment preceding this run to the grand finale, Avs fans are relishing the moment. It'll feel well worth the wait if Colorado can stick it to the Lightning, who've won Lord Stanley's Cup the past two years running.

Worth noting, however: Vasilevskiy is a phenomenal goalie who got off to a rocky start in the last series against the Rangers, which put the Bolts on a 0-2 series deficit. Tampa Bay responded by rattling off four straight victories.

Aaaaand just as I'm ready to send this out, the Lightning get a goal at the 12:26 mark from Nicholas Paul. That championship mettle is already showing up in the early going!