Darcy Kuemper smirked.
A day after saying he and Colorado Avalanche goalie partner Pavel Francouz usually get a text message the night before a game telling them who’s starting, he finally let on that it wasn’t such a secret going into the Stanley Cup Final.
“I might have known a little bit longer,” he said.
There was no goalie controversy then and there’s no goalie controversy now for the Avalanche, who beat the back-to-back defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime to take the opener of the best-of-seven series. Kuemper made 20 saves on 23 shots and has coach Jared Bednar’s trust going into Game 2 Saturday night.
“I was pretty happy with his performance,” Bednar said. “Darcy is a guy we leaned on heavily all year long. It’s why we relied on him to do this job.”
WATCH | Burakovsky buries OT winner in Game 1:
Andre Burakovsky’s overtime goal lifts Colorado to a 4-3 victory over Tampa Bay in the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Avalanche played it like it was some sort of debate between Kuemper, their starter all season who has missed time this playoffs with injury, and Francouz, who was 6-0 filling in. They know they have options as one of just five teams in NHL history to have two different goaltenders win at least five games each during a playoff run.
Kuemper insists now he’s fully healthy. That was clear in a couple of important stops he made on three successful Colorado penalty kills in Game 1, which was another step for him putting the eye injury in the past.
“It was an unfortunate incident in the first round,” he said. “I’m glad I came out of it and everything is back to normal now, so nothing you can do about it. It’s not easy watching some of those games, but the team has been so great that I’ve just been worried about getting myself back sharp and getting healthy.”
Kadri, Cogliano skating ahead of Game 2
Injured Avalanche forwards Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano skated with an assistant coach Thursday after missing Game 1.
Kadri skated with a stick in his hand for the first time since injuring his right thumb crashing into the boards during the last round. He did not take any shots in 45 minutes on the ice.
Cogliano took a puck to the right hand in Colorado’s series clincher against Edmonton in the Western Conference final. Noticeably, he shook hands with Oilers players and coaches with his left hand.
Despite that, Cogliano appears closer to being ready to face the Tampa Bay Lightning than Kadri, who was injured on a hit by Evander Kane that prompted a one-game suspension.
Lightning unfazed
Minutes after losing in overtime, Patrick Maroon scoffed at the idea that it was some sort of gut punch to the Lightning.
“Two really good teams going at it,” he said. “That’s Game 1. We just got to refocus and be ready for Game 2.”
Few teams in recent NHL history are better at doing that, which is why the Lightning are unfazed about trailing the Avalanche. The two-time defending champions have won 11 consecutive series since their remarkable postseason run began in 2020; in five of them, Tampa has lost the opener — including twice this postseason — and the experience has steeled them for situations just like this.
Players wasted no time in moving on to Game 2 on Saturday night. Tampa Bay, after all, had roared back from a 3-1 first-period deficit to tie the opener before Andre Burakovsky’s overtime winner. Elements from successful stretches of Game 1 can factor into the team’s tweaks and changes moving forward.
“We’ve done a great job of making adjustments after losses, so we’ll look to do that,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “The mindset is we’re here to win a series and you don’t know when that’s going to come: four games, five, six, seven. You never know.”
Point given
Lightning star Brayden Point got off to a bit of a slow start in Game 1, but that’s understandable given he hadn’t played in a month because of a right leg injury. Despite the long layoff, Point skated almost 18 minutes, assisted on Nick Paul’s goal and drew a penalty.
After starting the series on Tampa Bay’s third line, Point is now a candidate to move up closer to his usual first-line role.
Cooper liked what he saw in Point in the opener, although it’s clear the Lightning’s leading goal-scorer the past two playoffs isn’t back to that form yet.
“He handled it pretty well,” Cooper said. “He’s getting his game and his hands in order. I can expect him to get more ice time if he’s feeling better.”
Extra rest
Neither team practised Thursday with an extra day between Games 1 and 2. Some Avalanche players worked out at the rink, but the priority is rest with just about everyone anticipating a lengthy series.
“In a seven-game series, you can’t get caught admiring a win, or whatever you want to call it,” Colorado defenceman Bowen Byram said. “We’ll get prepared in the next couple days and get ready to go again.”
Reference-www.cbc.ca