2022 Stanley Cup Final Game 7, Avalanche vs Lightning

Lore & Background

By the time the 2022 playoffs rolled around, the Lightning had already rewritten the record books with back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021. A third straight would place them in rare company and cement the era of Kucherov, Hedman, and Vasilevskiy as one of the most dominant trios in the sport. Colorado, meanwhile, arrived as a gritty, well-balanced team that had carved through the West with a mix of veteran leadership and young speed, led by a Nathan MacKinnon who had already announced himself as a generational talent.

The series itself was a war of attrition. Both teams traded leads, both goalies produced heroics, and the Avalanche's physical, structured forecheck kept Tampa honest for six games. By Game 6, the entire hockey world was watching: a three-peat on the line, a Denver crowd roaring, and two rosters that had given everything over the preceding weeks. The Avalanche's ability to execute in the closing minutes — to find the goals that mattered while holding the Lightning to two — became the defining image of the night.

For fans outside the two franchises, the series served as a reminder of what the Stanley Cup Final can be when two teams are truly matched: a chess match played at full speed, decided by inches, where a single deflection or a single save in the third period separates a dynasty from a heartbreak.

Reader's Guide

The occasion: Game 7 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, the last game needed to decide the NHL championship. The Lightning had won the first two games, Colorado answered with two straight, Tampa took Game 5, and the Avalanche clawed back to force a decider in Denver.

What happened: In a tightly contested, low-scoring affair, the Lightning edged the Avalanche 2–1. Andrei Vasilevskiy was a wall between the posts, and Tampa Bay's structured special teams and patient possession hockey found the opening they needed. Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche pushed relentlessly, but the margin was razor-thin, and the Lightning's composure in the final minutes sealed the series 4–3.

Why it's remembered: It completed the Lightning's three-peat — 2020, 2021, 2022 — a run of sustained excellence that defined an era. For Colorado, it was a near-miss that highlighted how close the gap between the NHL's elite can be. For every other fan, it was the reminder that Game 7s are decided by the smallest margins, and that dynasties are built one final, nerve-shredding shift at a time.

Did You Know?

• The Lightning's back-to-back titles (2020, 2021) made them one of the few franchises in the modern era to win two straight Stanley Cups, but their bid for a third consecutive title fell short in 2022.
• The 2020 title was won in a Toronto 'bubble' with no fans in attendance, making the 2021 celebration in front of a live crowd a full-circle moment for the franchise.
• Nathan MacKinnon, who had won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2016, was the Avalanche's engine in the series and became a cornerstone of the franchise's identity.
• Victor Hedman, the Lightning's defensive anchor, had won the Norris Trophy during this two-year run, anchoring the best defensive core in the league.