2 years agoColorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon notched his first goal in the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, putting the team on the board with a power-play goal 5:17 into the second period. He deflected in a Mikko Rantanen pass with his skate. MacKinnon registered a game-high eight shots on goal in total in the contest, and he was bound to score at some point after having already logged 14 shots on net in the first three games of the series. The star centerman became the third player in franchise history to hit 40 playoff goals and he's also had 50 assists in 90 appearances. Only five players in NHL history have averaged more points in the postseason than MacKinnon.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoColorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri had a dream Stanley Cup Final debut on Wednesday when he scored in overtime to give his team a 3-2 win. He was back in the lineup after missing four games with a broken thumb and ended the game 12:02 into the extra period. Kadri scored his seventh goal of the playoffs and he now sits on 15 points with 14 games played. The 31-year-old has made a very quick recovery from injury, but it appears that he isn't quite 100 percent yet as Kadri avoided taking faceoffs. He skated with Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin, and Colorado's captain took all the faceoffs when the trio was on the ice.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoColorado Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper looks set to remain the team's starter in the Stanley Cup Final. The 32-year-old has had one roller coaster of a ride over the last couple of games, posting a shutout in Game 2 but lasting only 31 minutes in Game 3. Kuemper was pulled in Monday's matchup after he allowed five goals on 22 shots. Pavel Francouz came in and finished with 10 saves from 11 shots, but the team remains confident in Kuemper and it seems like there won't be a goalie change, as Kuemper filled the starter's crease Wednesday morning. He hasn't taken back-to-back losses throughout the playoffs and enters Game 4 with an 8-3 record. Kuemper's goals-against average for the postseason stands at 2.76 and he's registered a .892 save percentage.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoColorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri (thumb) is edging closer to his return and could be back in action Wednesday in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The talented forward has been progressing steadily since having thumb surgery and his participation in Wednesday's game seems like a very real possibility. He's been out of commission since getting hurt at the start of Game 3 in the Western Conference Finals against Edmonton on June 4. J.T. Compher has been filling in for Kadri as the second-line center. The Avalanche will be desperate to get some help, with Andre Burakovsky (hand) sitting out a second consecutive game on Wednesday.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Darren Dreger

2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (lower body) will play in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final Wednesday night. Tampa lost one of its biggest stars to an apparent leg injury late in Game 3, but Kucherov is good to go for Game 4, as is Nick Paul, who also picked up a lower-body injury on Monday. Kucherov broke out in the series in Game 3 with two assists and Paul has scored two goals in the Final. Meanwhile, Brayden Point (lower body) will remain out on Wednesday.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoColorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog scored both of the team's goals in Monday's 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay. He opened the scoring 8:19 into the game on the power play and also lit the lamp with the man advantage early in the second. Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen bagged the assists on both plays. The latter has already collected seven helpers against the Lightning, which marks the most ever through the first three games of a Stanley Cup Final. Landeskog has opened the series with three goals and one assist. He missed the end of the regular season following knee surgery, but the Colorado captain has fully recovered and put together a very nice playoff campaign with 11 goals and 21 points in 17 appearances.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning right wing Corey Perry reached a special achievement in Monday's 6-2 win over Colorado, becoming the first player in NHL history to score for four different teams in the Stanley Cup Final. He grabbed the historic goal late in the second period on the power play. Tampa snapped a 0-for-16 drought with the man advantage. Perry now has six goals for this year's playoffs and nine points, which is a pretty decent haul for a bottom-six forward. Four of his goals have come on the power play as he typically skates with the top unit.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov appeared to have suffered a leg injury late in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. He was hurt with a little over six minutes left in regulation when took an awkward fall into the boards after he was cross-checked by Colorado defenseman Devon Toews. Kucherov remained on the ice at first for the start of a five-on-three power play, but he clearly felt uncomfortable and left the game soon after. The former MVP put together a big performance before getting injured, registering two assists with six shots, two hits and a plus-three rating. Additionally, he became only the fourth player in NHL history to tally 25-plus points in three consecutive postseasons. With Brayden Point (undisclosed) having already missed Monday's action, Tampa will be desperately hoping that Kucherov isn't forced to miss any games.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoColorado Avalanche winger Andre Burakovsky was forced to make an early exit from Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final after he appeared to have sustained a hand injury. The 27-year-old Swede blocked a pass from Victor Hedman with his hand. He took only two shifts after the first period and ended up with 7:51 of ice time. Burakovsky, who scored a 4-3 game-winner in overtime in Game 1, recorded a goal and an assist in Game 2 before leaving. It remains to be seen if Burakovsky is healthy enough to play in the next game on Monday.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Sportsnet

2 years agoColorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen collected a hat trick of assists on Saturday against Tampa Bay to match a franchise record. He joined Peter Stastny and Nathan MacKinnon as the only players in franchise history to post a four-game multi-point streak at home during a single playoff year. Rantanen has opened the series against Tampa with five points in two games and will head into Monday's Game 3 with a six-game point streak. Colorado's No. 96 has tallied 22 points in 16 postseason outings this year and he averages the seventh-most points per game in Stanley Cup Playoffs history --Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoColorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar scored twice in the third period to cap off a huge 7-0 victory over Tampa Bay in Game 2 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. He became only the second blue-liner in NHL history to record a short-handed goal and a power-play goal in the same Stanley Cup Final game. Makar produced four shots in total in the contest and had three hits with a plus-two rating in 21:58 of ice time. The 23-year-old has now bagged an incredible 110 points in 93 games through the regular season and playoffs in 2021-22, and it looks like he's far from done.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat maintained his hot scoring form in Game 1 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, scoring his ninth goal of the playoffs. He and Mikhail Sergachev combined for two goals inside 38 seconds in the second period to tie the game at three, but the defending champions ended up taking a 4-3 loss in overtime. Palat has scored in four of his last five appearances and has managed at least a point in nine of the last 10 games. He's riding shotgun on the top line to Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos and it's helped the former seventh-round pick to rack up 17 points in 18 games this postseason.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoTampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov had an assist in Wednesday's Game 1 loss to Colorado, becoming only the third player in NHL history to amass 90-plus points in a span of three playoff years. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were previously the only ones to do it, which shows how incredible of an achievement it is. Kucherov has had 22 goals and 68 assists in the playoffs during Tampa's dominant stretch. The former MVP heads into Game 2 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final with a six-game point streak.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoColorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin collected two points in Wednesday's Game 1 victory over Tampa Bay, finishing a 4-3 win with a goal and an assist. He put the team 2-0 up in the middle of the first period and grabbed his helper when he set up Andre Burakovsky for the game-winner 1:23 into overtime. The Russian winger was very active all night and ended up with a game-high six shots on goal in 19:04 of action. Nichushkin hasn't been a very regular scorer in recent weeks, but he sits comfortably on the first line and has enjoyed a fine postseason with 11 points in 15 games.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoColorado Avalanche winger Andre Burakovsky was the hero of the night as the 2022 Stanley Cup Final started Wednesday night, scoring a 4-3 game-winner 1:23 into overtime. It's the earliest overtime goal in the Final in 11 years and it's Burakovsky's first-ever overtime goal in the playoffs. The Swedish winger has battled a lower-body injury this postseason and hasn't been very productive, totaling six points in 11 games, but he's now got three points in his last four appearances and it looks like Burakovsky is getting close to returning to his regular-season form, which saw him produce a career-high 61 points. --Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN