After years of playoff disappointments, the Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup for the third time in franchise history after dethroning the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Colorado Avalanche celebrate after the team defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. The Avalanche won 2-1.
“It was all leading up to this,” playoff MVP-winning defensman Cale Makar said about the Avalanche’s journey. After an early turnover by Makar leading to Steven Stamkos’ goal that put them in a hole and several more bumps and bruises, the Avalanche tied it when MacKinnon beat 2021 playoff MVP Andrei Vasilevskiy with a near-perfect shot and went ahead on another big goal by trade deadline acquisition Artturi Lehkonen. They locked things down by holding on to the puck and not letting Tampa Bay even shoot the puck on Darcy Kuemper in the third period.
Much like the Lightning went all in multiple times by trading high draft picks and prospects to load up for the best chance to win the Cup, Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic was not afraid to ante up in March to acquire Lehkonen, defenseman Josh Manson and veteran forward Andrew Cogliano. They became the perfect complement to Colorado’s core that had showed plenty of playoff promise and until now hadn’t produced a championship.
That legacy finally involves a championship, thanks in large part to steady coach Jared Bednar, who in his sixth season found a way to focus his team on the mission at hand from the start of training camp. That mentality helped the Avalanche get over the hump, and Bednar became the first coach to win the Stanley Cup, American Hockey League’s Calder Cup and ECHL’s Kelly Cup.
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