DENVER — The blast came off the stick of Colorado Avalanche winger Andre Burakovsky just 83 seconds into overtime, a one-timer from the right circle. Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, so stout throughout these Stanley Cup playoffs, had no chance, and Ball Arena went into a frenzy as the home team claimed Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals with a 4-3 win in a thrilling opener to the series Wednesday night.
Before Burakovsky’s heroics, the back-and-forth game saw Colorado jump to a 3-1 lead before the two-time defending champions roared back to tie it at 3 late in the second period. After a scoreless third, overtime awaited.
Burakovsky, one of the heroes of the Washington Capitals’ Stanley Cup run in 2018, made sure it didn’t last long.
“I wasn’t thinking too much,” he said of the winning goal. “It was kind of a crazy feeling.”
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The series resumes with Game 2 on Saturday night.
“Guys just stuck with it. It was resiliency from the group,” Avalanche Coach Jared Bednar said.
The Lightning, aiming to become the first team in nearly 40 years to win three straight titles (the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980 to 1983), has won 11 consecutive playoff series dating from the 2020 postseason, but it has started this one with a deficit.
“The right team won the game,” Lightning Coach Jon Cooper said. “We got better in us. I don’t think by a country mile we gave them our best game.”
Colorado, despite its lack of finals experience, came out sharp. The Avalanche, which hadn’t made it out of the second round of the playoffs since 2002, jumped out to a 2-0 lead and had a commanding 3-1 advantage at first intermission.
Tampa Bay was unfazed, holding the game there until it equalized with a pair of goals in a 48-second span late in the second period.
Winger Nikita Kucherov deked through a Colorado defender before dishing to Ondrej Palat, who beat Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper to trim the deficit to 3-2. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev knotted the score a few ticks later with 6:21 left in the second.
Colorado hadn’t faced a team like the Lightning in the postseason, with Tampa Bay’s experience and elite goaltending from Vasilevskiy. But Vasilevskiy struggled in the charged atmosphere of Ball Arena to open the game. Before Game 1, he had never allowed three or more goals in the first period of a playoff game. He gave up three on 15 shots Wednesday night.
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He held firm after that — until overtime.
Kuemper was in net for the first time since he suffered an upper-body injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. He said he was “100 percent” healthy heading into the finals and played like it in the first period. But his lull in the second led to a tension-filled third.
When Burakovsky ended it, Kuemper felt something more than relief.
“Just a bolt of energy, excitement,” he said. “Obviously I’m focused on not letting one in and trusting the guys that they’re going to get the job done down there. They went down there and made a beautiful play and put it in. I was as excited as everybody.”
Bednar expressed plenty of belief in his young team before the game.
“Lots of experience, they know how to win — we get it,” Bednar said of the Lightning. “I feel like we’ve been preparing our team for this moment since Day One of training camp. ... They may have more experience, but we’re here to try to prove that we’re the best team in the league, and that’s where our mind-set is at.”
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Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog opened the scoring with a rebound in front at 7:47 of the first. Colorado doubled its lead less than two minutes later with Valeri Nichushkin’s goal from the high slot.
Tampa Bay got on the board after a breakaway hustle play by forward Nick Paul with 7:34 left in the first. Colorado responded five minutes later with Artturi Lehkonen’s goal on a five-on-three power play before Tampa Bay responded.
Amid the overtime loss, there was a bright spot for the Lightning. Tampa Bay got a needed boost from center Brayden Point, who played in his first game since he suffered a lower-body injury during a Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round May 14. Point had a secondary assist in his return.
Colorado was still without Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano after both underwent surgery for hand injuries suffered during the Western Conference finals.
Tampa Bay has faced adversity in the postseason, most recently rallying to defeat the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference finals after it lost the first two. Now in a 1-0 hole in the finals, the reigning champion will need another comeback.
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