In Game 2, nothing went right for the Lightning at all. They simply could not keep up with Colorado's fast, explosive offense. They seem dazed. But that's not the surprising part, any team would have an issue keeping up with this Av's offense. what's concerning is Tampa's offense. Yes, they did score 3 goals in game 1, but only off of 22 shots. In game 2 they only had 16 shots and 0 goals, while getting absolutely demolished allowing 7 goals scored by the Avalanche. Tampa's Offense is just as lethal as the Avalanche, but the Av's goalie and defense are not as good as the lightning. there should be no reason they can't get 25 to 30 shots up.
All that changed in game 3 for the lightning. It seemed as though they were embarrassed by game 2's performance, and being down 2-0, because they played a physical game, having 40 hits in game 3. They also stepped up their offensive game getting 34 shots up and scoring 6 goals, easily beating the Av's 6-2. They were not going to have to come back from a 3-0 series lead, a feat that has only been accomplished 4 times in NHL history and only once in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Lightning needed this game to get their confidence back up and knowing that it is still very much anyone's series, game 3 proved that. But the Lightning still have things to work on, such as, their power play. They are 1-17 in the last 18 power play opportunities. They had 6 in game 3 alone, and only scored once, now it didn't matter anyway because they scored 5 other goals. The Lightning need to do better, they HAVE to do better if they want to beat the Avalanche. Anytime they can get an advantage against the Avalanche, the Lightning NEED to take that advantage.
In game 4, I expect it to be more physical game than game 3 was. The Lightning got some confidence back, but don't think for a second the Avalanche won't come out hungry after losing the way they did. Valeri Nichushkin is becoming increasingly annoying for the Lightning as he has scored 5 goals in his last 4 games prior to game 3. It would have been 6 pucks in the back of the net if one was not reversed because an Av's player was offsides. The Lightning also need to slow down Cale Makar. He has been the heartbeat of this Av's offense during their post season run. He has registered 25 points, which is a franchise record in a single playoff run by an Avalanche player.
I expect lots of hitting, and lots of penalties in game 4. This series has gotten pretty intense, and it could start boiling over in game 4. I also expect the recent trend of the high scoring to continue. It is going to be a back-and-forth matchup in game 4 and the games to follow... I cannot wait!
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