Lightning vs Avalanche preview: top players in the NHL Stanley Cup finals | MacKinnon, Kucherov, Makar
The Stanley Cup Finals will feature some of the most prodigious talent in the NHL squaring off in a true clash of titans. We look at the biggest names.
With the Stanley Cup Final starting on Wednesday, the biggest names in hockey are getting ready to take center ice. Two of the best defensemen in the league, in Cale Makar and Victor Hedman, will square off, together with two of the most skilful forwards in Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov.
Kicking off Game 1 in Denver, the Colorado Avalanche are looking to continue their unbeaten run in Stanley Cup Finals with a third win on their third appearance. They haven’t made it to a final since 2001, and in front of them are the Tampa Bay Lightning, who themselves are trying to turn their two consecutive cups into three, setting up a modern hockey dynasty in the process.
There is a ton of talent on the ice for this one, and here are some of the players to look out for.
As the most dominant post season goalie in recent memory, Andrei Vasilevskiy is coming off a Conn Smythe-winning performance in 2021, and has a 12-5 record with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
He wobbled momentarily against the Maple Leafs and the Rangers, but righted the ship against New York by allowing just one goal in the last four games. He is the backbone of the strongest team in hockey, now in his third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
Nikita Kucherov is another potent weapon for the Lightning, sitting in first for Tampa with 23 points and 16 assists. Like his countryman in goal, he had a slow start to the post season, but is now back to his dominant ways, coming into the finals on a five-game point streak.
Colorado has some sting in their tail as well, with Cale Makar’s name on everyone’s lips. He has 22 points in 14 games, coming in just behind Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey in the highest points-per-game rates in a single playoff among defenseman in NHL history. He is one of the most dangerous players in the game, with outstanding puck-handling skills and truly superb skating. The 23-year-old may just be the best defenseman in the league.
The yin to Makar’s yang is the Avalanche’s center Nathan MacKinnon. He is leading the Avs with 11 goals and is a man who can hit, shoot, and make plays, all while moving with speed and grace on the ice. Colorado agreed a seven-year, $44.1 million contract with the young man from Halifax, and so far, he is showing that he is worth every penny.
One of the biggest strengths of the Lightning is the experience that you bring to the ice when you are on your third consecutive finals. Steven Stamkos is a personification of this, breaking out for the first 100-point season of his career, and being a clutch player in the Lightning’s series against the Rangers.
On one side, you have the potential legacy for the ages with the Lightning trying for the first three-peat since the Islanders in the 1980s. On the other side, you have a young and talented team, perhaps the best on the ice in the Avalanche.
No team can defend like Tampa Bay, and they have shut down the two top offenses in these playoffs already. But the Avalanche are very deep at forward and are faster than anything that the Lightning have faced so far.
Whether you are a long suffering NHL fan or just watching your first game, this is the series that you can’t miss. These are two titans of hockey and it will be steel-on-steel, one sharpening the other. This is almost certain to be one of the most entertaining and electric Stanley Cup Finals in history.