Tampa Bay Lightning, who is applying for his third consecutive championship, is unfortunately a good team in Finland to ruin the joy, writes Riku Isokoski.
Andrei Vasilevski is the iron-backed back of Tampa Bay. Zuma Press / MVPhotos
The still life is familiar. In the NHL finals, the “Finnish team” and the group playing completely without Finns are facing each other again.
Boston’s Tuukka Rask, who fought off a glorious spring in 2019, bowed to St. Louis of Finland. The following year, Dallas lost strong Tampa Bay in the bubble-down games.
Playing without Finns, Tampa Bay defeated three Finnish strikers in Montreal last year. And so only that same team is in the finals again – now Colorado, represented by Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen.
In recent years, Tampa Bay has done much the same thing in the NHL as the Lions in the World Cup. It is extremely difficult to win when the stakes are high.
It’s no coincidence, of course, as Tampa Bay’s action on the ice is very much reminiscent of the Lions as an NHL team. There are plenty of different rhythms and stencils in the team’s game to defeat different ways of playing.
Discipline, the efficiency of the game of superiority, an excellent goalkeeper game, tight fives, work ethic – Tampa Bay shines in exactly the same things that have largely enabled the Lions ’gold march.
Of course, one has to remember that Colorado is probably the best team to play against Tampa Bay in the playoffs in the last three seasons. In terms of offensive power, Colorado is one of the few teams in the NHL that can compare to Tampa Bay.
Unlike last season, Colorado this spring has shown really strong tenacity and character at critical moments in the series. This strongly supports the mental maturity of the team, but above all, the final series weighs the usual depth of play.
The raw fact is that Colorado’s undeniably greater desire to win the championship can wipe the floor in this series. Tampa Bay has a tremendous ability to be a cold-blooded opponent’s desire killer.
The story continues after the picture.
In Tampa Bay’s social culture, sacrifice is a matter of honor. Zuma Press / MVPhotos
The main slacker of expectations is star goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevski, who makes the biggest difference between the final teams. Known by the nickname “big cat”, the fighters perfectly reflect their team.
Like a cat chasing a mouse, Tampa Bay is often in trouble at the beginning with its prey. Then, when the canines first sink into the neck of the mouse, the beast no longer gives it a chance.
In giving a deadly bite, Tampa Bay is relentless, and no other team maintains the same level of confidence in the lead game. In the end, it celebrates victory, no matter what style it comes from.
Tampa Bay’s third consecutive championship would be incredible in today’s NHL, but equally incredible for Finns.
Although the Finns have done better in the NHL in recent seasons than ever before and there are fewer teams without Finnish players than before, the Stanley Cup seems to be avoiding confusingly.