Quick hitters from the Avalanche’s Game 1 OT win, 4-3, against Tampa Bay on Wednesday night.
Clutch Kuemper
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar faced a difficult choice entering Game 1: Stick with the hot hand at goaltender (Pavel Francouz) or go back to your trusted starter (Darcy Kuemper). Bednar picked Kuemper — fully recovered from an upper-body injury against Edmonton — and he stepped up to the challenge. Kuemper misplayed a puck in the first period leading to Nick Paul’s goal. In the second, he also got beat twice over a span of just 48 seconds. But Kuemper stood tall with no goals allowed in the third period or overtime. Kuemper made 20 of 23 saves on the night.
Hot start
The Avalanche displayed zero rust Wednesday night after its long break with a three-goal first period (Gabe Landeskog, Val Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen). Strong starts have not been Colorado’s strong suit, though, with the team scoring first in only three of its previous 10 playoff games en route to the Stanley Cup Finals. But the Avs wasted no time in Game 1. Lightning stud goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed a trio of goals after facing just 15 Colorado shots on net. It was an ideal start for the home team that included a successful power-play chance (five on three).
Penalty killers
The Lightning entered the Stanley Cup Finals tied for second in the NHL postseason with 14 power-play goals. Don’t tell that to the Avalanche. Colorado’s penalty-kill unit stymied Tampa Bay on all three of its extra-man opportunities in Game 1. Thatap an especially good sign against a Lightning team that finished the regular season converting 23.9 percent of its power-play chances. Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Val Nichushkin and J.T. Compher were all especially dominant in protecting the net with a man disadvantage on Wednesday night.
