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Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 17: Last-second goal in Florida, St. Louis finally solves Colorado

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell(scotmaxw)
May 20, 2022, 00:39 EDTUpdated: May 21, 2022, 12:30 EDT
Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 17: Last-second goal in Florida, St. Louis finally solves Colorado
Credit: © Sam Navarro

Florida and St. Louis looked to respond after Game 1 losses, would they get the job done?

Missed anything? Here’s a recap of the night’s action.

Colton scores in final seconds to give Lightning 2-0 series lead heading back to Tampa

The Florida Panthers were looking to respond after a disappointing showing in Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, especially with their special teams. That didn’t seem to change early in the game, as Corey Perry scored his second of the series on the power play in place of the injured Brayden Point to make it 1-0 12 minutes in.

The Lightning continued to make the Panthers seem human for the rest of the first and most of the second, as Florida just couldn’t seem to muster anything. That changed late in the second with a funny bounce, as Eetu Luostarinen threw the puck on net and it pinballed through Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Panthers nearly got another one before the period ended, but Vasilevskiy robbed Anthony Duclair to keep it tied.

It became a full blown goalie duel after that, as Sergei Bobrovsky made a spectacular save of his own in the third period.

It was back-and-forth action for most of the third, until the dying seconds of the period. When it seemed like it was going to overtime, Nikita Kucherov took advantage of an over-commitment from MacKenzie Weegar and Gustav Forsling to set up a wide-open Ross Colton, who fired it home for the game-winning goal, and the Lightning now have a 2-0 series lead heading back to Tampa Bay.

Blues find a way to contain Avs to tie series

The way Game 1 went, it seemed like we were poised to see another series between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues where the Avs would walk all over the Blues. Even when Jordan Binnington saved the day, Colorado still won in overtime.

But in Game 2, the Blues found a way to contain them. It seemed uncharacteristic of the Avs. They had their chances here and there, but it was much closer than Game 1. And then when Jordan Kyrou and David Perron gave the Blues a 2-0 lead in the second, it seemed tough for even the high-flying Avs to make a comeback.

Gabriel Landeskog cut the lead in half not even two minutes into the third to make it interesting, but Perron got his second of the game midway through the third, Brandon Saad sealed the deal with an empty net goal, and the Blues tied the series with a 4-1 win.

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