Signs Point to Lightning star playing in Game 1 of Cup final
Tampa Bay’s Brayden Level appeared like himself on the ice Tuesday, only a month after being unable to skate when his proper leg crumbled beneath him and he wanted assist to hobble off the rink.
Level appeared able to return from a major proper leg damage that knocked him out of the previous two rounds of the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s newest run to the Stanley Cup Final. Assuming nothing goes fallacious earlier than Sport 1 Wednesday night time, the back-to-back defending champions can be getting their main goal-scorer from the previous two championship years again simply in time for the beginning of a extremely anticipated collection in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche.
“Issues are leaning in the direction of him taking part in,” coach Jon Cooper mentioned. “If it’s not (Sport 1), I actually anticipate Sport 2, however we’ll see how he’s.”
Level mentioned, “I don’t assume something is assured” and added he is having fun with simply working towards with teammates once more. Nonetheless, given the stakes and Level’s seen enchancment a return is probably going. If that’s the case, he will not face any synthetic minutes restriction.
“He’s an elite participant on this league, and he’ll play his minutes in accordance of how he’s responding,” Cooper mentioned. “Plenty of it’s going to be on how he’s feeling. I wouldn’t classify that Pointer’s going to be sitting on the bench an entire lot if he’s wholesome. He’ll be on the market.”
The Lightning had been lacking solely winger Brandon Hagel for his or her first follow in Denver, although the important thing commerce deadline acquisition skated Monday in Tampa. Colorado is dealing with damage questions of its personal with forwards Nazem Kadri (thumb) and Andrew Cogliano (hand) questionable for Sport 1 and past.
WHICH AVS GOALIE?
Colorado goaltenders Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz mentioned Tuesday that they had not but heard who was beginning Sport 1. However that is common.
“That’s how we dealt with all of it yr,” Kuemper mentioned. “We might normally get a textual content the night time earlier than the sport, and so they’ll tell us who’s beginning the following night time.”
Common supervisor Joe Sakic deemed Kuemper absolutely wholesome after the veteran goalie missed the majority of the Western Convention ultimate with an undisclosed damage. Kuemper earlier took an inadvertent stick with the proper eye by a gap in his masks in the course of the first spherical in opposition to Nashville and likewise missed time then.
Regardless of Francouz being 6-0 this postseason, going again to a wholesome Kuemper is the most certainly determination for coach Jared Bednar and his workers in a collection in opposition to reigning playoff MVP Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Lightning. Colorado is simply the fifth workforce in NHL historical past to have two goalies every win not less than 5 video games throughout a playoff run.
“We’re positively assured in each goalies,” Sakic mentioned. “Our guys have been dedicated defensively all yr. That’s one factor I don’t assume our gamers get sufficient credit score for is that if they’ve received to shut out a sport, they discover a technique to do it and play the proper method and so they’ve achieved that each one yr.”
PERRY 3-FOR-3
Whereas Tampa Bay’s Pat Maroon, who won with St. Louis in 2019, goes for a fourth consecutive championship, first-year teammate Corey Perry is in a really completely different place. Perry is the ultimate for a 3rd yr in a row with three completely different groups after shedding to Tampa Bay with Dallas in 2020 and Montreal in 2021.
Perry is the primary participant since Marian Hossa (2008 Penguins, 2009 Crimson Wings and 2010 Blackhawks) to try this. Hossa misplaced the primary two earlier than profitable with Chicago.
“It has been an odd highway,” Perry mentioned. “Hopefully the third time’s the attraction.”
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Comply with AP Hockey Author Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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