Avalanche score 4 in 2nd, defeat Jets in Game 2 to even West 1st Round series

Lehkonen has goal, assist for Colorado; Hellebuyck makes 27 saves for Winnipeg

R1, Gm2: Avalanche @ Jets Recap

NHL.com Independent Correspondent

April 24, 2024

WINNIPEG -- Artturi Lehkonenhad a goal and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche evened their Western Conference First Round series against the Winnipeg Jets with a 5-2 win in Game 2 at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

“Obviously, it’s an important win,” Colorado forward Andrew Cogliano said. “We thought we played well in the first game (a 7-6 loss) and didn’t get the result. I thought tonight we dug in. Went down early but it seemed like all four lines contributed, our [defense] played great and [Georgiev] had a bounce-back game, so tied the series. When you play in a building like this against a team like that, 1-1 going home into our building is a pretty good spot to be.”

Cale Makar had two assists for the Avalanche, the No. 3 seed from the Central Division. Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves after allowing seven goals in 23 shots in Game 1.

“They showed so much support to me over the last couple of days. A very rough first game, obviously,” Georgiev said of his teammates. “I just felt so much trust in the room from everybody and I appreciate it so much. It helped me reset, to know that they have got my back. I know I’ll help them out as well during this playoff. It was huge from them. I appreciate it.”

COL@WPG R1, Gm2: Lehkonen tips in Makar's shot to tie game in 2nd period

David Gustafsson and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets, who are the No. 2 seed from the Central. Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves.

“It was a tough fought game, and [we] probably gave them a little bit too much zone time and a little bit too much space at times in that game,” Scheifele said. “But also we had some good shifts in there too. We have two days of rest here now. We need to ramp it up as it’s the playoffs. You’re not going to win every game, but you’ve just got to be ready for the punches that are thrown.”

Game 3 of the best-of-7 series will be in Colorado on Friday (10 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT, TVAS, CBC).

Gustafsson gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 3:15 of the first period, scoring on the rebound from Brenden Dillon's point shot.

“We were a lot better in certain areas,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “We had some lapses, certainly at the end of the second and it kind of caught up to us a little bit. We had the start we really wanted and then they got their power play and finished up strong in the first. But for the most part it was a lot better in areas, and there’s still improvement to be made."

Miles Wood tied it 1-1 at 1:59 of the second period, shooting five-hole on Hellebuyck after Ross Colton won an offensive zone face-off.

“Through the playoffs, you need lines to score, especially the third and fourth lines,” Cogliano said. “I thought Miles had a great goal from their line and we were able to chip in. Big two goals and sometimes that’s the difference in games like tonight.”

Scheifele scored one-handed to put the Jets back in front 2-1 at 8:37, just 32 seconds after Winnipeg killed off a double minor to Kyle Connor for high-sticking. Connor began the rush with a cross-ice outlet pass to Gabriel Vilardi, who then set Scheifele up for a deflection. Scheifele got his stick on the puck at the edge of the crease while tied up by Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson.

“Fantastic pass by Gabe,” Scheifele said. “I knew the guy was kind of there and he didn’t really know where the puck was, so if I had to go two-handed there, he probably reacts in the same fashion. I just made a judgment call.”

COL@WPG R1, Gm2: Scheifele redirects Vilardi's shot in to give Jets lead in 2nd period

Lehkonen tied it 2-2 with a tip in close off Makar's point shot at 14:16.

“[Lehkonen] is a competitive, competitive guy,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “When you talk about all-around, good players that play the game the right way, and it's not always showing up on the stat sheet for a guy like [Lehkonen]. I can pick guys around the league that I’m a big fan of the way they play for multiple reasons. He's one of them. When you do the right things all the time, day after day, practice, games, and you're an intense competitor, it's going to pay off for you at some point. I feel like we've seen that out of [Lehkonen]. Big moments, just doing the right thing.”

Zach Parise put the Avalanche in front 3-2 at 17:20. He scored on his own rebound after Hellebuyck was checked by Avalanche forward Yakov Trenin while playing the puck behind his net, allowing Cogliano to find Parise in front.

“I think we did a good job of realizing that’s a fluky one, right,” Connor said. “How many times does Connor [Hellebuyck] go back and play the puck and it’s bang-up, no problem. Our forwards can do a bit better job picking the forwards coming in, too. Maybe a little skate screen can help him out. It’s a team effort there, but at the same time I think that’s one of those you just brush off.”

COL@WPG R1, Gm2: Parise nets rebound to put Avalanche up in 2nd period

With seven seconds remaining in the second, Josh Manson came out of the penalty box and scored on a breakaway to make it 4-2. Nathan MacKinnon’s stretch pass sprung Manson, who deked Hellebuyck and scored five-hole.

“Just to be able to put it away, that was nice,” Manson said. “It was obviously not my best effort in Game 1, so I wanted to focus on that. Those things happen like that sometimes, so it was nice.”

Valeri Nichushkin scored with a backhand into an empty net at 19:03 of the third period for the 5-2 final.

“It’s a playoff series. We’re good at home, they’re good at home,” Cogliano said. “We get a 1-1 split in a tough building, so I think we take the positives from that and now we go home to a place we’re pretty comfortable playing.”

NOTES: Avalanche defenseman Sean Walker left the game after colliding in the corner with Jets center Vladislav Namestnikov in the third period. “Yeah, he’s fine, completely fine,” Bednar said. … MacKinnon’s assist on Manson’s goal was his 58th in the playoffs, surpassing Peter Stastny for fourth place on the Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques all-time list.

Waiting in the Wings | Forward prospect Marco Kasper making strides, learning to be a complete player in AHL

Red Wings’ eighth overall pick in 2022 NHL Entry Draft excited for Grand Rapids Griffins' playoff push

April 24, 2024

Future NHL stars are developing in the Red Wings’ prospect pipeline. Follow along as DetroitRedWings.com highlights the organization’s rising young talent in our monthly series, ‘Waiting in the Wings,’ presented by Carhartt.

Rather than dwell on a slow start to his first full season in North America, Marco Kasper trusted the process and believed through hard work, he would find his groove with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

“To be honest, I didn’t play like I wanted to,” Kasper recently told DetroitRedWings.com. “I came here and had a hard time just figuring it out in the beginning. But I think by communicating with the coaches, just getting out there and trying to do my best every day I’ve been doing much better.”

After recording just one point in his first 10 games with the Griffins to open the 2023-24 season, Kasper collected 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in his final 61 games. The Detroit Red Wings forward prospect was even named the AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 22 after registering two goals and three assists in back-to-back games from Jan. 19-20.

“I worked through some adversity in the beginning of the season,” Kasper said. “I didn’t get too frustrated with myself.”

Originally selected eighth overall by the Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Kasper made his NHL debut last season on April 2, 2023, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although Kasper sustained a season-ending lower-body injury in that game, the Austrian forward said getting a taste of NHL action was an eye-opening opportunity.

“The small ice is a big difference for the European players,” Kasper said. “Coming over here, there’s just way more battles.”

Adjusting his game to the North American style hasn’t been without some bumps for Kasper, who started his 2022-23 season with Rogle BK in the Swedish Hockey League. Fortunately, the 20-year-old Kasper said his more experienced Griffins teammates are helping him navigate the learning curve in the AHL.

“We have a lot of young guys, but we also have some veterans who have been in the league for a long time,” Kasper said. “For example, Michael Hutchinson has helped me a lot. He sits next to me in the locker room and just tells me to keep shooting and do the right things. He’s just one of the many guys who have helped us young guys a lot.”

Fellow Griffins forward Zach Aston-Reese praised Kasper for his work ethic and willingness to learn.

“His mindset and his attitude have just come such a long way to being like a full-time pro,” Aston-Reese said about Kasper on April 11. “And it’s translating.”

Under first-year head coach Dan Watson, the Griffins finished second in the Central Division this season with a 37-23-8-4 (86 points) record, clinching a spot in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs.

“He’s been really good,” Kasper said about Watson. “Obviously first year here for the coaching staff in Grand Rapids. They’ve all done a great job with us, getting all the players the things we need to play together as a team.”

Grand Rapids is set to face the Chicago Blackhawks' AHL-affiliate Rockford IceHogs in the Central Division Semifinals. Game 1 in the best-of-five series is set for Saturday night at BMO Center in Rockford, Ill. 

Kasper said he’s ready to contribute during Grand Rapids’ first trip to the postseason since 2018-19. 

“Tightening up everything, the competitiveness and winning all the battles are going to be really important in the playoffs,” Kasper said. “The small details have to be on point.”

The Backcheck: Bolts fall in OT, trail 2-0 in Round One Series

The Tampa Bay Lightning found a way to scratch and claw out of a 2-0 hole and get the game tied at two apiece, but eventually fell to the Florida Panthers with a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 2 of Round One Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena. Following a 3-2 defeat in Game 1 Sunday afternoon, the Bolts will travel back to Tampa trailing Florida 2-0 in the series.

The Panthers opened the scoring at the 6:16 mark of the first period when Sam Bennett jumped on a rebound in front and fired a backhand shot over the goal line to give Florida an early 1-0 lead.

With Matthew Tkachuk making contact with Andrei Vasilevskiy prior to the goal, Tampa Bay challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld with the NHL ruling that “the actions of Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel caused Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk to contact Andrei Vasilevskiy prior to Sam Bennett’s goal.”

Following the unsuccessful challenge, the Bolts were able to kill off the Panthers power play, but went back to the penalty kill at the 13:16 mark of the first when Mitchell Chaffee was whistled for tripping.

With Chaffee in the box, Oliver Ekman-Larsson fired a shot from the point that was stopped by Vasilevskiy, but Vladimir Tarasenko was able to capitalize on a rebound and push the Florida lead to 2-0 with 4:48 remaining in the opening frame.

With 40 minutes still remaining in the contest, the Lightning showed no signs of quitting and got back within one goal just 48 seconds into the second period when Brayden Point netted his first goal of the postseason.

After Anthony Duclair took a pass from Victor Hedman in the offensive zone, he whipped a shot towards the net that was redirected by Point and past Sergei Bobrovsky to make it a 2-1 game.

Less than five minutes later, the Bolts went to the power play after Carter Verhaeghe was whistled for goaltender interference. Just over 30 seconds into the man advantage, Nikita Kucherov moved the puck to the point for Hedman, who put a pas right in the wheelhouse of Steven Stamkos, allowing the captain to hammer his patented one-timer into the top right corner and tie the game at 2-2 with his second goal of the playoffs.

With the game tied and the ice tilted in Tampa Bay’s favor, Matt Dumba nearly gave the Bolts a 3-2 lead when he had a great look at an open net, but his backhand shot was denied by a sprawling Bobrovsky, who made the save of the playoffs and got a piece of the puck to keep the score even at 2-2.

Following a scoreless third period, Verhaeghe netted the game-winning goal just 2:59 into overtime to give the Panthers the 3-2 win and a 2-0 series lead over the Lightning. Tampa Bay has now dropped 10 of its last 11 overtime games in the postseason while Florida has won 11 consecutive overtime games in the playoffs.

The series will now shift back to Tampa, where the Bolts will look to even the series over the next two contests. The Lightning will hope for a similar outcome to the 2022 Eastern Conference Final, where the Bolts fell into a 2-0 hole against the New York Rangers before winning four straight games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Bolts by the Numbers

- Brayden Point scored his first goal of the postseason and has now logged 84 career playoff points in 82 games (41-43—84). Point is 10 points shy of tying Ondrej Palat for the fourth-most playoff points in Lightning franchise history. Point has found the scoresheet in each of Tampa Bay’s playoff games this year (1-1—2).

- Steven Stamkos scored his second power-play goal in as many games and has now recorded 98 career playoff points (47-51—98). With two more points, Stamkos can become just the third player in Lightning franchise history to record 100 playoff points with the club (also: Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov). Stamkos has now scored 19 career power-play goals in the postseason, tied with Kucherov for the most in Tampa Bay franchise history.

- Victor Hedman assisted on both of the Lightning’s goals and has now recorded 26 career multi-point efforts in the playoffs, tying him with Bobby Orr for the 10th-most by a defenseman in NHL history. Hedman’s 90 career playoff assists are the most among all active NHL defensemen and rank tied for 12thamong all defensemen in NHL history (also: Brad Park).

- Anthony Duclair picked up his first point of the postseason with the primary helper on Brayden Point's goal. Duclair has now recorded 15 career playoff points (5-10—15).

- Nikita Kucherov picked up the secondary helper on the Stamkos goal for his second assist in as many games this postseason (0-2—2). Kucherov has now recorded 70 career postseason power-play points (19-51—70), the most among all active skaters in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

- Anthony Cirelli skated in the 100th career NHL playoff game, making him just the seventh skater in Lightning franchise history to skate in 100 playoff games with the club.

- Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves on 37 shots and is now up to 3,122 career saves in the postseason. With 33 more saves, Vasilevskiy can pass Mike Vernon and take sole possession of the 11th-most saves among all goaltenders in playoff history.

Bolts Quotes

Jon Cooper: “Tonight, this group, this lineup, was so damn close to getting it done. It just didn't. But there's a lot of things that say, 'Hey, this works.' And there's things to look at and say, 'Clearly, this doesn't work.' I've watched this team the last month and a half here do things that I don't think people thought we could. Now we're here and now we have to do the same thing in the series.”

Steven Stamkos: “You've just got to win the next game. Take care of one game at a time and the swings of momentum and ebbs and flows of a series. Obviously, it's a big hole, but we have done it before. We've just got to win the next game.”

Cooper on the approach over the next two days going into Game 3: “We'll head home here. We've been together a lot here the last five or six days. Go home. Be with the families. Get away from the game. Then we circle back for Game 3 and put a little bit of a better foot forward than we did these last two games. Because we have put a good foot forward. It's just we need to be a little bit better. You learn from moments in series and we'll see how much we've learned.”

Krenner’s Three Stars

1. Carter Verhaeghe

2. Sergei Bobrovsky

3. Andrei Vasilevskiy

Lightning Look Ahead

- Game 3 – Thursday, April 25 vs. Florida Panthers, 7 p.m. ET, AMALIE Arena

- Game 4 – Saturday, April 27 vs. Florida Panthers, 5 p.m. ET, AMALIE Arena