Rocky Mountain High: Avalanche dethrone Lightning to claim Stanley Cup

In a dominant second-period display, Nathan MacKinnon scored one goal and fed Artturi Lehkonen for the game-winning tally as the Avs dethroned the two-time defending champions with a 2-1 victory in Game 6 of the Cup final at Amalie Arena.

Colorado won the series four games to two, ending the Lightning's bid for the NHL's first three-peat since the New York Islanders of the 1980s. It's the Avs' third Cup, joining the teams of 1996 and 2001 that were captained by Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Sakic. He got to celebrate this one, as well, while serving as the club's general manager.

Sakic's handiwork was all over this club, from the drafting of Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cale Makar in 2017 to the trade deadline acquisition of Lehkonen from Montreal, where he had lost to Tampa in the final last season. And Sakic kept coach Jared Bednar in the face of a 22-win, 48-point season the rookie head coach had in 2016-17.

Sakic must have loved the two-way effort of his club. The Avalanche held their lead for the final 27 1/2 minutes and survived Tampa's 6-on-5 play for the final two minutes without much concern over the final few seconds. The gloves and sticks and helmets flew through the air as the final horn sounded and the Colorado players gathered in a group hug behind their net as the stunned crowd of 19,092 stood mostly in silence, save for the pockets of Avs fans that made their way into the building.

"I was trying not to look at the clock too much, was just trying to stay in the moment," said Makar, at 23 the youngest defenseman to win the Conn Smythe since Bobby Orr in 1970. "Pure joy being able to throw the gloves off and being able to experience that. It's so amazing to be able to experience it with such a great group of guys."

"It's nothing but amazing for me," said MacKinnon, taken first overall in 2013. "No complaints, obviously. Some tough years mixed in there, but it's all worth it now. We never stopped believing."

Bednar said any lingering questions about MacKinnon's legacy after three straight second-round losses were wiped out by this victory.

"He is as tough a competitor, as driven a guy as I've ever seen," said Bednar, 50, now the only man to coach championship teams in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. "These playoffs are a little bit of a coming-out party because, I think, what he learned was he didn't have to just wrack up points to be successful. He dug in other ways in the structure of the game." 

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly handed the Cup to captain Gabriel Landeskog in place of Commissioner Gary Bettman, who was sidelined by a positive Covid-19 test and did not do the duties for the first time since 1993. After taking his turn holding it aloft, Landeskog handed off to veteran defenseman Erik Johnson to start the Avs' parade around the ice.

"Heavier than you think," a smiling Johnson said on the ice a few minutes later after the top moment of a Colorado career that dates to 2011. "It was like I watching a video game or something like that. It was amazing. Gabe was telling me the last couple years, 'When we win it, you're getting it first.' If that doesn't give you motivation to get it done, nothing else does. Just a super humbling, gratifying feeling."

It was the fourth straight series Colorado clinched on the road in this postseason, and the Avs finished the playoffs 9-1 away from home, with two wins in this series, and 16-4 overall. For all the talk about offense and speed, Colorado wrapped up its title thanks to defense in front of goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who only faced four shots on goal in the third period – just one in the first 13 minutes.

Kuemper made a big save on Nikita Kucherov with 6:32 left to keep the Avs in front. The Lightning never got any great chances at the equalizer with goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on the bench for an extra attacker over the final two minutes.

"It was great. We stepped on the gas and played offense in the third and that's what I liked the most," center Nazem Kadri said. "We kept control (of the puck) and they weren't dangerous."

MacKinnon, who only had one goal and four points in the first five games of the series, took the game over in the second period. He tied the game at 1-1 at 1:54 on a one-timer from the left circle after a strong pass from defenseman Bowen Byram. The Lightning argued the goal – and officials convened to discuss it – because they felt Nick Paul had touched the puck on a delayed penalty call, which would have brought about a whistle. Replays showed it to be a close call and the goal stood. The play was not reviewable via video for the officials.

It was MacKinnon's 13th of the playoffs, giving him a tie for the NHL postseason lead with Edmonton's Evander Kane. The Avs went ahead at 12:28 as MacKinnon got the puck to Lehkonen, after it deflected off the skate of Tampa defenseman Ryan McDonagh, and Lehkonen's quick shot beat Vasilevskiy on the glove side.

Tampa argued after that goal as well, with Pat Maroon going after officials because he felt Colorado's Josh Manson held the stick of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the Lightning zone. It was Manson who got the puck to MacKinnon to earn the secondary assist.

The Avalanche guarded the lead in championship style. For all the talk about their enormous speed advantage, Colorado shut this game down with a defensive style any previous Cup winner would be proud of.

"Our mentality was just to win that period, win that next shift, and so on," Makar said. "We were never looking too far ahead to the outcome. We definitely feel like we earned that one for sure."

"It was resilient. What it comes to is desire, the attention to detail," Bednar said. "It was exceptional. It just shows what this group is made of."

The game started well for Tampa, with plenty of zone time and a goal by Steven Stamkos at 3:48 of the first period. In the end, the Lightning simply couldn't overcome a litany of injuries and the toughest opponent they've faced in their three-year run. Their streak of 11 straight series victories is over.

"It's not like we lost to some powderpuff. That's a baller hockey team over there," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of the Avs. "In saying that, it doesn't make it less easy, because you have to beat good teams when you win a Stanley Cup. But we just got bettered by one tonight, and we just ran out of gas."