NHL Stanley Cup Final 2022: Top Comments Following Lightning vs. Avalanche Game 3

Only one team in NHL history has come back from an 0-3 deficit to win the Stanley Cup Final: the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. That's why this year's Game 3 was a must-win contest for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Colorado Avalanche had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the series with an overtime victory in Game 1 and a rout in Game 2. But those were both on the Avs' home ice in Denver. For Monday night's Game 3, the Stanley Cup Final shifted to Tampa, Florida.

With a 6-2 win, the Lightning gave everybody a reminder of why they're the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

"There’s a reason why we’re here and there’s a reason why we won [Game 3]. There’s a reason why this has gone on for the last couple of years,” head coach Jon Cooper told reporters. "The guys you need to lead you have been doing that, and then everybody falls in line."

It was unusual to see the Lightning struggle so much over the first two games. They had a solid showing in Game 1, using a pair of second-period goals to force OT before Andre Burakovsky lifted the Avalanche to victory in the second minute of the extra period.

However, Game 2 was a completely one-sided affair, as Colorado notched an impressive 7-0 victory.

In Game 3, the Avs again took an early lead, going up 1-0 on Gabriel Landeskog's goal eight minutes and 19 seconds into the contest. However, the Lightning answered with two goals of their own in the first period and then outscored the Avalanche 4-1 in the second period.

“I don’t know why we started the series the way we did," Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. "But any way you slice it, it’s 2-1 now."

Game 4, which is set for Wednesday night in Tampa, will be crucial. Either the Lightning even the series at 2 or the Avalanche get the chance to win the Cup on their home ice in Game 5 on Friday night.

Even though Colorado dropped Game 3, its players remain optimistic.

"Hey, look, we try to stay as even-keeled as you possibly can," Landeskog said, per The Athletic's Michael Russo. "Even when we win, it’s not much to it. And when you lose, it's the same thing. You watch some video, watch some tape and learn and get better from it."

That's not all the Avalanche might do. They could also make a switch at goaltender after Darcy Kuemper struggled in Game 3, allowing five goals on 22 shots before being replaced by Pavel Francouz in the second period.

The Czech, 32, had a solid showing, recording 11 saves and allowing only one goal in 26:56. But it wasn't enough for Colorado to get back in the game.

However, it may have been enough for Francouz to earn a start in Game 4 after Kuemper's tough showing.

"He didn't have a good night, you know? Neither did our team," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of Kuemper, per Tracey Myers of NHL.com. "We win as a team, lose as a team. Group him in with everybody else. Just wasn't as good as we needed to be."

It wasn't a surprise that the Lightning bounced back in Game 3, given many expected this to be a competitive series.

After all, Tampa Bay is a talented team that has shown resilience, such as in the Eastern Conference Final when it overcame an 0-2 deficit by winning the final four games of the series against the New York Rangers.

The Lightning have won eight straight home games and will look to extend that streak to nine on Wednesday. If they don't, their season will be one loss away from being over.