The third Stanley Cup final will be played at Tampa Bay Lightning’s home cave in Florida.
Mikko Rantanen (right) is leading the Colorado Avalanche towards the NHL Championship. AOP
The Stanley Cup finals have so far been entirely under the command of the Colorado Avalance. When the first final was extended to an extra time, Avalance smashed as much as 7-0 in the second half of Tampa Bay Lightning.
Now, the night before Tuesday, Lightning will have his back against the wall because he can’t afford to lose 0-3 in a series of matches where Colorado has a home advantage on his side, after all.
The third fight of the final series will start at 03.05 Finnish time at Tampa’s own Amalie Arena.
History no longer supports the Lightnings championship. The defending champion has lost 0-2 times four times before reaching the finals the following season, and only the Detroit Red Wings in 1966 have turned that position to their advantage.
In addition, the NHL statistics do not know of the first team to rise twice in a row from 0-2 to the winning streak in the playoffs. The Bolts turned the semifinals against the New York Rangers to their advantage, even though the Rangers won the first two matches.
Tampa Bay now need to show the hosts gestures right from the opening minutes of the first installment.
What is also crucial is how the home team is able to keep up with the wild tune Mikko Rantanen (5 + 17 = 22 in the playoffs) and the goal greed Artturi Lehkonen (7 + 5 = 12) in the arms.