The temperatures are dropping; the days are getting shorter. Fall has arrived, and the Summer of Stanley is over. It went quickly, but that is the price we pay for being Stanley Cup Champions. The change of weather marks one thing: a new hockey season is upon us. However, before we launch into the upcoming year, let’s take a moment to recount the top 5 greatest moments from the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If this doesn’t get you excited about more hockey, you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog.
#5 Frankie’s Shutout in Game 2 vs. Edmonton
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers was what highlight reel material is made of. Honestly, it felt more like a ping-pong match than a hockey game with a dramatic score of 8-6, which sounds like the score of a recent Bronco’s game. While that game had it all, including an upper-body injury to netminder Darcy Kuemper, what was more impressive was Pavel Francouz stepping up in goal after the high-scoring Game 1 and not allowing a single puck to enter the net in Game 2. He stopped all 24 shots, and the Avs won 4-0. On the eve of his 30th Birthday, the chant of “Frankie” rang throughout Ball Arena and gave the Avs a commencing 2-0 series lead.
#4 Kadri’s Hat Trick in St. Louis
By now, we are all familiar with Nazem Kadri’s background, and after a play against St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington, in Game 3 that took him out for the remainder of the series, St. Louis condemned Kadri. From a water bottle thrown at him during a nationally televised post-game interview to racist messages of hate spewed at him, Kadri entered Game 4 in St. Louis to a contentious crowd. Kadri silenced that crowd with a hat trick. Rather than retaliate against the players coming after him, Kadri and the Avs maintained their composure, forcing the Blues to take penalties. Even after a failed 5-3 attempt, the Avs didn’t relent, and Kadri scored seven seconds after the expired penalties. In Kadri’s own words, “It was pure.”
#3 Lehkonen’s OT Winner vs. Oilers
The Oilers came out in Game 4 in Roger’s Arena with nothing to lose, except the series, of course. Edmonton was desperate to finally get back in the series after losing the previous three games and played with everything they had. The Avs struggled and trailed 3-1 and then again 4-2. Due to the questionable goaltending by Mike Smith, the Avs gained a 5-4 lead in the third, but the Oilers came back to tie it at 16:38 of the third, sending the game into OT. Traditionally, the narrative goes that when a team ties it late in the game to push overtime, that team carries the momentum into OT and often wins. Not this time. Only 1:19 into the extra frame, Artturri Lehkonen got the rebound from Makar and smacked it past Smith. With this goal, the Avs swept the Western Conference Finals and punched their ticket to the Stanely Cup Final for the first time since 2001.
#2 Darren Helm gets the Avs past Round 2 of the Playoffs
For three years in a row, the Avs were eliminated in the Second Round of the playoffs. While the Avs had been outplaying St. Lous for most of the series, St. Louis ruined MacKinnon’s spectacular goal that would have sent them to the next round by coming back to tie the game and then win in OT (as the storyline mentioned above tends to go). Despite outplaying the Blues in Game 6, the Avs couldn’t seem to take the lead, Compher put up two game-tying goals, and Josh Manson tried his hand at goaltending for a hot second, but the Avs couldn’t get the lead. The final seconds of the third ticked down, and it appeared that we were headed to OT once again. However, the Avs’ didn’t quit, and Darren Helm sent one past backup goaltender, Ville Husso, with 5.6 seconds remaining in regulation. The curse of the Second Round finally ended.
#1 Game 6 vs. Tampa Bay
Like there really could be another choice but this for the #1 spot. However, I am picking the third period of Game 6, specifically to be the best of the best in the 2022 Stanley Cup Run. With the Avs’ high-flying scoring abilities, the Avs are an offensive club; even our defense plays top-notch offense. Looking at the scoreboard, a 2-1 win, after scores like 8-6, 2-1, seems rather unremarkable. However, I think the slow intensity is what makes it remarkable.
After a gut-wrenching home loss in Game 5, the Avs entered Game 6 with one goal: to end the damn thing. Tampa Bay scored early in the first, sending a chill through all Avs fans, but the Avs maintained the grind, and Natty Mac tied it 1-1 early in the second, with Lehkonen getting the go-ahead goal midway through the game. The Avs had what they needed, and they shut the Lightning down. In the third period, the Avs only allowed Tampa to get four shots through to Darcy, two of which only came in the final minute and a half of the game. The Avs dethroned the back-to-back champs and left no questions about who the better team was. In the words of Kuemper, “It was the best period of the whole year.” When the Avs needed to show up, they did.
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The Avs Found A Way to win, and now we are ready to do it again.
