2022 Stanley Cup Finals

The 2022 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2021–22 season and the culmination of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. The series was between the Eastern Conference and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the Western Conference champion Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche won the best-of-seven series, four games to two, for their third championship in franchise history. Colorado had home ice advantage in the series with the better regular season record.
The series began on June 15, and concluded on June 26. With the Government of Canada allowing cross-border travel for fully vaccinated players and team personnel between Canada and the United States, the league was able to return to its usual two conference alignment and reinstate its standard playoff format that was used from 2014–2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Finals were still pushed from the usual start date in late May/early June for the third consecutive year, this time due to a scheduled break in the regular season that coincided with the league's planned participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics (though the league's players ultimately did not participate in the Olympics).
==Paths to the Finals==
===Tampa Bay Lightning===
This was Tampa Bay's third consecutive Finals appearance and fifth overall. They won the prior (2020, 2021) two Stanley Cups and have won three overall. They were the first team to clinch three consecutive Finals appearances since the 1983–1985 Edmonton Oilers. The Lightning joined the Montreal Canadiens (1976–1980) and New York Islanders (1980–1984) for becoming the only teams in league history to post at least eleven consecutive series victories. 
Captain Steven Stamkos led the team in scoring with 106 points. Defenceman Victor Hedman scored 85 points, eclipsing the previous Tampa Bay record, which Hedman set in 2017. During the off-season, the Lightning signed goaltender Brian Elliott, defenceman Zach Bogosian, and forwards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Corey Perry via free agency. They also opted to re-sign forwards Brayden Point and Ross Colton and defenceman Cal Foote with Patrick Maroon re-signing during the season. At the trade deadline, the Lightning acquired forwards Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul. For Corey Perry, this is his third straight Finals with three different teams (Dallas Stars in 2020, Montreal Canadiens in 2021), the first player to accomplish this feat since Marian Hossa did it with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008, Detroit Red Wings in 2009, and Chicago Blackhawks in 2010.
The Lightning finished third in the Atlantic Division gaining 110 points with a 51–23–8 record. Tampa Bay defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the First Round in seven games, followed by a four-game sweep of their intrastate rival, the Florida Panthers, during the Second Round, and then triumphed over the New York Rangers in the Conference Final in six games.
===Colorado Avalanche===
This was Colorado's third appearance in the Finals. They won their two prior appearances with their most recent against the New Jersey Devils in 2001.
Mikko Rantanen led the team in points scoring 92 overall. Darcy Kuemper started 57 times for the Avalanche, obtaining 37 wins in the process. However, during Game 1 of their Conference Final series, Kuemper left the game with an upper-body injury. Backup goaltender Pavel Francouz started in Games 2, 3, and 4 as a result. During the off-season, the Avalanche traded for Kuemper and forward Kurtis MacDermid. They also picked up free agent Darren Helm. They re-signed defenceman Cale Makar, captain Gabriel Landeskog, and Francouz. Nearing the trade deadline, the Avalanche acquired Josh Manson, Nico Sturm, Artturi Lehkonen, and Andrew Cogliano.
The Avalanche finished the season with 119 points via a 56–19–7 record, grabbing the Central Division title and first place in the Western Conference. Colorado swept the Nashville Predators in four games during the First Round, then defeated the St. Louis Blues in six games during the Second Round, before sweeping the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final.
== Game summaries ==
:Note: The numbers in parentheses represent each player's total goals or assists to that point of the entire playoffs.
===Game 1===
In Game 1, the Avalanche controlled the first period scoring three times compared to the Lightning's one goal. Colorado's captain Gabriel Landeskog began the scoring, pushing the puck past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy when Mikko Rantanen's shot barely squeaked under the goaltenders pads. The next goal came when defenceman Victor Hedman's clearing attempt got picked by Nathan MacKinnon, whose pass to Valeri Nichushkin made it 2–0. The Lightning halved Colorado's lead when Brayden Point's dump-in was retrieved by Nick Paul who broke in and dangled out Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper to make 2–1. The Avalanche regained the two-goal lead five minutes later when Tampa was in a 5-on-3 penalty kill. MacKinnon's shot got blocked and on the rebound he passed back to Landeskog who set up Rantanen for a wrist shot that got tipped in by Artturi Lehkonen. In the second period, the Lightning got two goals to tie the game. Ondrej Palat scored the first goal as he and Nikita Kucherov entered the zone with the latter going inside-out on Devon Toews to set up Palat for the tip-in. 1:48 later, the Lightning continuing their offensive zone attack had a pass back to Mikhail Sergachev from Brandon Hagel whose shot through traffic went off the post and into the net. The third period did not have any scoring albeit the Avalanche firing 12 shots compared to the Lightning's 5 shots, thus the game went into overtime. In overtime, as the Lightning attempted to clear the zone, J. T. Compher picked up the loose puck and shot it, but it was blocked by a Lightning defenceman. The puck then came to Nichushkin who passed to Andre Burakovsky and he fired a snap shot past Vasilevskiy to give Colorado a 4–3 victory.
Scoring summary	Scoring summary	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary	Scoring summary
Period 	Team 	Goal 	Assist(s) 	Time 	Score
1st 	COL 	Gabriel Landeskog (9) 	Mikko Rantanen (13), Bowen Byram (8) 	07:47 	1–0 COL
1st 	COL 	Valeri Nichushkin (6) 	Nathan MacKinnon (8) 	09:23 	2–0 COL
1st 	TBL 	Nick Paul (4) 	Victor Hedman (13), Brayden Point (3) 	12:26 	2–1 COL
1st 	COL 	Artturi Lehkonen (7) – pp 	Mikko Rantanen (14), Gabriel Landeskog (10)	17:31 	3–1 COL
2nd 	TBL 	Ondrej Palat (9) 	Nikita Kucherov (17), Ryan McDonagh (4) 	12:51 	3–2 COL
2nd 	TBL 	Mikhail Sergachev (2) 	Brandon Hagel (4), Anthony Cirelli (5) 	13:39 	3–3
3rd 	None 	None 	None 	None 	None
OT 	COL 	Andre Burakovsky (2) 	Valeri Nichushkin (5), J. T. Compher (3) 	01:23 	4–3 COL
Penalty summary	Penalty summary	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary	Penalty summary
Period 	Team 	Player 	Penalty 	Time 	PIM
1st 	COL 	Josh Manson 	Holding the stick 	05:07 	2:00
1st 	TBL 	Mikhail Sergachev 	Tripping 	15:53 	2:00
1st 	TBL 	Anthony Cirelli 	Tripping 	16:20 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Patrick Maroon 	Roughing 	03:41 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	Jack Johnson 	Roughing 	03:41 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	Bench (served by Alex Newhook)	Too many men 	06:28 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Logan O'Connor 	Tripping 	05:48 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Patrick Maroon 	Delay of game (puck over glass) 	18:36 	2:00
OT 	None 	None 	None 	None 	None
Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period
Team 	1 	2 	3 	OT 	Total
 	8 	9 	5 	1 	23
 	15 	10 	12 	1 	38
===Game 2===
The Avalanche routed the Lightning in Game 2. In the first period, after Lightning defenceman Ryan McDonagh got penalized for roughing J. T. Compher, a power-play ensued for Colorado. During it, Andre Burakovsky led a cross-ice pass to Valeri Nichushkin's tip-in goal to give the Avalanche an early 1–0 lead. The Avalanche then grabbed a 2–0 lead when a 2-on-1 rush with Andrew Cogliano and Josh Manson led to the latter's wrist shot under Andrei Vasilevskiy's blocker. Burakovsky then made it 3–0 when the Avalanche on an offensive zone rush had Mikko Rantanen's shot rebound to Burakovsky for the quick tip-in. Burakovsky almost made it 4–0 when he was given a breakaway thanks to Rantanen's lead pass. In the second period, the Avalanche continued their offensive zone coverage allowing Rantanen to centre a pass to Nichushkin to make it 4–0. The Avalanche then made it 5–0 when the Lightning misplayed a pass leading Darren Helm and Logan O'Connor on a 2-on-1 break for which the former's wrist shot went over Vasilevskiy's glove. O'Connor was also given a breakaway chance to make it 6–0 except the Lightning goaltender stopped that. In the third period, as Rantanen was in the penalty box for tripping, the Lightning gave the puck away to Cale Makar who with Andrew Cogliano on another 2-on-1 made it 6–0. Ondrej Palat then got called for cross checking and on the ensuing power-play, Nathan MacKinnon made a pass to Rantanen, who quickly passed to Makar for his second goal of the evening to make 7–0. With frustrations boiling over for Tampa Bay, four of their players were called for roughing for which Colorado retaliated with their own roughing calls. However, the Avalanche claimed a 7–0 victory with Darcy Kuemper stopping the 16 shots he faced.
Scoring summary	Scoring summary	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary	Scoring summary
Period 	Team 	Goal 	Assist(s) 	Time 	Score
1st 	COL 	Valeri Nichushkin (7) – pp	Andre Burakovsky (5), Alex Newhook (3) 	02:54 	1–0 COL
1st 	COL 	Josh Manson (3) 	Andrew Cogliano (2), Alex Newhook (4) 	07:55 	2–0 COL
1st 	COL 	Andre Burakovsky (3) 	Mikko Rantanen (15), Devon Toews (9) 	13:52 	3–0 COL
2nd 	COL 	Valeri Nichushkin (8) 	Mikko Rantanen (16) 	04:51 	4–0 COL
2nd 	COL 	Darren Helm (2) 	Logan O'Connor (3) 	16:26 	5–0 COL
3rd 	COL 	Cale Makar (6) – sh 	Andrew Cogliano (3) 	02:04 	6–0 COL
3rd 	COL 	Cale Makar (7) – pp 	Mikko Rantanen (17), Nathan MacKinnon (9)	09:49 	7–0 COL
Penalty summary	Penalty summary	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary	Penalty summary
Period 	Team 	Player 	Penalty 	Time 	PIM
1st 	TBL 	Ryan McDonagh 	Roughing 	01:01 	2:00
1st 	TBL 	Mikhail Sergachev 	Delay of game (puck over glass) 	08:34 	2:00
1st 	TBL 	Corey Perry 	Roughing 	16:12 	2:00
1st 	COL 	Darcy Kuemper 	Holding the stick 	16:12 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	Jack Johnson 	Hooking 	05:35 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Corey Perry 	Roughing 	17:42 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Corey Perry 	Unsportsmanlike conduct 	17:42 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	J. T. Compher 	Hooking 	17:42 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Mikko Rantanen 	Tripping 	01:04 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Ondrej Palat 	Cross checking 	08:19 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Valeri Nichushkin 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Valeri Nichushkin 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Artturi Lehkonen 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Artturi Lehkonen 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Darren Helm 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Darren Helm 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Anthony Cirelli 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Anthony Cirelli 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Steven Stamkos 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Steven Stamkos 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Erik Cernak 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Erik Cernak 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Alex Killorn 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Alex Killorn 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Jack Johnson 	Unsportsmanlike conduct 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Jack Johnson 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Jack Johnson 	Roughing 	15:38 	2:00
Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period
Team 	1 	2 	3 	Total 	
 	5 	7 	4 	16 	
 	11 	12 	7 	30 	
===Game 3===
In Game 3, the Lightning showed more offence than their previous two games. However, the Avalanche began the scoring in the first period. After a coach's challenge revealed Valeri Nichushkin's goal was offside, and then Ondrej Palat got called for high-sticking, Colorado went on the power-play. During the power-play, Cale Makar set up Mikko Rantanen for a quick shot through traffic which pinballed off Andrei Vasilevskiy and Erik Cernak for an easy tap-in for Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. The Lightning tied the game less than five minutes later when the Avalanche gave the puck away to Anthony Cirelli who passed to Patrick Maroon and then back again to Cirelli who tried to deke out Darcy Kuemper except his mishandling of the puck went five-hole through Kuemper. The Lightning then gained the lead for the first time in this series after Devon Toews fanned on a pass leading to a breakout of Tampa Bay. Palat and Nikita Kucherov went down the ice, with Steven Stamkos trailing. Palat passed back to Stamkos who set up Palat again for a snap shot that went past Kuemper for a 2–1 lead. In the second period, the Lightning outscored the Avalanche, four goals to one. The first goal came off a turn-over from Colorado's Josh Manson who gave the puck to Victor Hedman setting up an open Nick Paul for a 3–1 lead. However, the Avalanche minimized the Lightning's lead to one goal, when on the power-play, Rantanen and Makar set up Landeskog's snap shot goal. Tampa Bay regained their two-goal lead when Kucherov and Stamkos lead the offensive zone rush with Kucherov back-handing a pass to an open Stamkos for a quick wrist shot. Patrick Maroon made it 5–2 deking out the defencemen with his shot rolling up Kuemper's blocker to the top of the net. Corey Perry made it 6–2 when the Lightning were on the power-play, tipping in a shot by Palat that went over Kuemper. Although the third period had no goals scored, both teams leveled their frustration at each other with both Logan O'Connor and Ross Colton fighting and Patrick Maroon and Andrew Cogliano both squaring off after the whistle resulting in misconducts.
Scoring summary	Scoring summary	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary	Scoring summary
Period 	Team 	Goal 	Assist(s) 	Time 	Score
1st 	COL 	Gabriel Landeskog (10) – pp 	Mikko Rantanen (18), Cale Makar (18) 	08:19 	1–0 COL
1st 	TBL 	Anthony Cirelli (2) 	Patrick Maroon (2) 	13:03 	1–1
1st 	TBL 	Ondrej Palat (10) 	Steven Stamkos (7) 	14:54 	2–1 TBL
2nd 	TBL 	Nick Paul (5) 	Ross Colton (4) 	01:26 	3–1 TBL
2nd 	COL 	Gabriel Landeskog (11) 	Cale Makar (19), Mikko Rantanen (19) 	04:43 	3–2 TBL
2nd 	TBL 	Steven Stamkos (10) 	Nikita Kucherov (18), Zach Bogosian (3) 	07:52 	4–2 TBL
2nd 	TBL 	Patrick Maroon (4) 	Nikita Kucherov (19), Victor Hedman (14)	11:15 	5–2 TBL
2nd 	TBL 	Corey Perry (6) – pp 	Ondrej Palat (9), Victor Hedman (15) 	14:58 	6–2 TBL
3rd 	None 	None 	None 	None 	None
Penalty summary	Penalty summary	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary	Penalty summary
Period 	Team 	Player 	Penalty 	Time 	PIM
1st 	COL 	J. T. Compher 	Interference 	05:50 	2:00
1st 	TBL 	Ondrej Palat 	High Sticking 	07:09 	2:00
1st 	COL 	Alex Newhook 	Holding the stick 	10:54 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Ross Colton 	Hooking 	04:03 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Patrick Maroon 	Roughing 	08:50 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	Josh Manson 	Roughing 	08:50 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	Nico Sturm 	Delay of game (puck over glass) 	14:22 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Alex Killorn 	Slashing 	15:45 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	Andrew Cogliano 	Roughing 	19:43 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Mikhail Sergachev 	Roughing 	19:43 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Andrew Cogliano 	Unsportsmanlike conduct 	12:03 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Devon Toews 	Cross checking 	13:38 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Bench (served by Corey Perry)	Too many men 	14:40 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Logan O'Connor 	Fighting 	17:48 	5:00
3rd 	COL 	Andrew Cogliano 	Slashing 	17:48 	2:00
3rd 	TBL 	Patrick Maroon 	Misconduct 	17:48 	10:00
3rd 	COL 	Andrew Cogliano 	Misconduct 	17:48 	10:00
3rd 	TBL 	Ross Colton 	Fighting 	17:48 	5:00
Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period
Team 	1 	2 	3 	Total 	
 	14 	13 	12 	39 	
 	12 	15 	6 	33 	
===Game 4===
In Game 4, the Lightning and Avalanche traded off periods where one team dominated the shot clock. The first period saw Tampa Bay fire 17 shots compared to Colorado's four shots. The third shot for the Lightning 36 seconds into the game gave Tampa Bay their first goal when Erik Cernak's shot bounced off of goaltender Darcy Kuemper to Anthony Cirelli who fired it into the net. Although Kuemper's mask had come off during the play, it was still ruled a goal due to the continuation of the puck. In the second period, the Avalanche poured off 17 shots compared to the Lightning's seven shots. Both teams ended up scoring this period. Colorado got the equalizer on the power-play when Nathan MacKinnon passed to Mikko Rantanen who passed to the front of the net and MacKinnon redirected the puck in with his skate. Tampa Bay regained the lead as defenceman Victor Hedman led the rush into the offensive zone, slipping by the defenders, and backhanding a shot over Kuemper for 2–1 advantage. However, as the teams switched on shots again, this time with Tampa Bay shooting ten times compared to Colorado's six, the Avalanche tied the game. As the Avalanche were working the point, Darren Helm shot at Andrei Vasilevskiy and the rebound went to Nico Sturm whose shot deflected off of Andrew Cogliano and into the net. With the game tied at two goals apiece, the game went into overtime. In overtime, Kuemper flipped the puck ahead to Artturi Lehkonen who passed to a speeding Nazem Kadri who got the shot through Vasilevskiy and into the top part of the cage. The goal gave Colorado a 3–2 victory and a chance to win the series in Game 5 in Colorado.
Scoring summary	Scoring summary	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary	Scoring summary
Period 	Team 	Goal 	Assist(s) 	Time 	Score
1st 	TBL 	Anthony Cirelli (3) 	Erik Cernak (1) 	00:36 	1–0 TBL
2nd 	COL 	Nathan MacKinnon (12) – pp	Mikko Rantanen (20), Cale Makar (20) 	05:17 	1–1
2nd 	TBL 	Victor Hedman (3) 	Jan Rutta (4) 	10:42 	2–1 TBL
3rd 	COL 	Andrew Cogliano (3) 	Nico Sturm (2), Darren Helm (3) 	02:53 	2–2
OT 	COL 	Nazem Kadri (7) 	Artturi Lehkonen (6), Darcy Kuemper (1)	12:02 	3–2 COL
Penalty summary	Penalty summary	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary	Penalty summary
Period 	Team 	Player 	Penalty 	Time 	PIM
1st 	COL 	Darren Helm 	Interference 	16:57 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Victor Hedman 	Interference 	03:57 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	Bowen Byram 	Hooking 	06:12 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Steven Stamkos 	Hooking 	11:48 	2:00
3rd 	None 	None 	None 	None 	None
OT 	None 	None 	None 	None 	None
Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period
Team 	1 	2 	3 	OT 	Total
 	4 	17 	6 	10 	37
 	17 	9 	10 	3 	39
===Game 5===
With a potential Stanley Cup victory in Colorado for the Avalanche in Game 5, the Lightning tried to hold on to extend the series. The first period saw both teams relatively even in shots with Colorado holding a one-shot advantage. However, Tampa Bay began the scoring as Mikhail Sergachev cleared the defensive zone forwarding a pass to Corey Perry with a cross-ice pass to Jan Rutta whose slap shot found its way past Darcy Kuemper for a 1–0 lead. The second period held a different story as the Avalanche held a stronger advantage in shots and managed to tie the game, prior to Tampa Bay's proceeding goal. The Avalanche, upon winning a faceoff, had Nathan MacKinnon pass to Cale Makar who shot the puck at Andrei Vasilevskiy but the rebound bounced to Valeri Nichushkin for an easy tap-in goal. Nikita Kucherov put the Lightning up 2–1 on a 4-on-3 power-play as his one-timer through traffic found its way above Kuemper's blocker to the back of the net. Much like in Game 4, the Avalanche tied the game in the third period. Once Colorado was able to enter the offensive zone, they set up Makar for a wrist shot through traffic that deflected off of Vasilevskiy, rebounding to Erik Cernak's skate and pinballing through Vasilevskiy and into the net. However, the Lightning reobtained the lead with less than seven minutes left, as the Lightning worked the offensive zone, eventually leading to an Ondrej Palat one-timer that got past Kuemper for a 3–2 advantage. The Avalanche continued to press the Lightning. However, Tampa Bay held off any late attempts to win the game 3–2 and force a sixth game.
Scoring summary	Scoring summary	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary	Scoring summary
Period 	Team 	Goal 	Assist(s) 	Time 	Score
1st 	TBL 	Jan Rutta (1) 	Corey Perry (4), Mikhail Sergachev (7) 	15:23 	1–0 TBL
2nd 	COL 	Valeri Nichushkin (9) 	Cale Makar (21), Nathan MacKinnon (10) 	05:07 	1–1
2nd 	TBL 	Nikita Kucherov (8) – pp 	Steven Stamkos (8), Corey Perry (5) 	08:10 	2–1 TBL
3rd 	COL 	Cale Makar (8) 	Devon Toews (10), Valeri Nichushkin (6) 	02:31 	2–2
3rd 	TBL 	Ondrej Palat (11) 	Victor Hedman (16), Mikhail Sergachev (8)	13:38 	3–2 TBL
Penalty summary	Penalty summary	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary	Penalty summary
Period 	Team 	Player 	Penalty 	Time 	PIM
1st 	COL 	J. T. Compher 	High-sticking 	03:13 	2:00
1st 	COL 	Nazem Kadri 	Hooking 	06:58 	2:00
1st 	TBL 	Steven Stamkos 	Interference 	11:17 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Alex Killorn 	Holding 	06:27 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	J. T. Compher 	Holding the stick 	06:27 	2:00
2nd 	COL 	Cale Makar 	Tripping 	06:58 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Ross Colton 	High-sticking 	16:17 	2:00
3rd 	COL 	Bench (served by Alex Newhook)	Too many men 	17:17 	2:00
Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period
Team 	1 	2 	3 	Total 	
 	11 	8 	10 	29 	
 	12 	14 	11 	37 	
===Game 6===
Back in Tampa Bay for Game 6, the Lightning struck first during the first period. As the Lightning were working the forecheck, a giveaway by Cale Makar brought an errant deflection to Steven Stamkos who put it five-hole through Darcy Kuemper. The Avalanche managed to tie the game in the second period during their offensive zone coverage which led to a delayed penalty on Tampa Bay. On the delayed penalty, Nathan MacKinnon's shot from the short side beat Andrei Vasilevskiy. Colorado then gained the lead when a 3–on–2 involving Josh Manson, MacKinnon, and Artturi Lehkonen resulted in a wrist shot by the latter to go up 2–1. With the lead the Avalanche continued to shoot at the Lightning goaltender while also maintaining defence. The Avalanche held on to claim a 2–1 victory to win their third Stanley Cup.
Cale Makar was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player during the playoffs. He became the third defenceman to win the Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same year; equalling Bobby Orr and Nicklas Lidstrom in accomplishing this feat. Corey Perry became the first player in league history to be on the losing side of three consecutive Finals while playing for three different teams.
Scoring summary	Scoring summary	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary	Scoring summary
Period 	Team 	Goal 	Assist(s) 	Time 	Score
1st 	TBL 	Steven Stamkos (11) 	Ondrej Palat (10) 	03:48 	1–0 TBL
2nd 	COL 	Nathan MacKinnon (13)	Bowen Byram (9), Gabriel Landeskog (11)	01:54 	1–1
2nd 	COL 	Artturi Lehkonen (8) 	Nathan MacKinnon (11), Josh Manson (5) 	12:28 	2–1 COL
3rd 	 	 	 	 	
3rd 	None 	None 	None 	None 	None
Penalty summary	Penalty summary	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary	Penalty summary
Period 	Team 	Player 	Penalty 	Time 	PIM
1st 	COL 	Cale Makar 	Interference 	00:23 	2:00
2nd 	TBL 	Ryan McDonagh 	Boarding 	14:53 	2:00
3rd 	None 	None 	None 	None 	None
Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period
Team 	1 	2 	3 	Total 	
 	8 	13 	9 	30 	
 	10 	9 	4 	23 	
==Team rosters==
Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.
===Tampa Bay Lightning===
# 	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Age	Acquired	Place of birth 	Finals appearance
12	 	 	C 	L 	25 	2021 	Montmagny, Quebec 	second
41	 	 	C 	L 	37 	2021 	Le Blanc-Mesnil, France 	second
24	 	 	D 	R 	31 	2021 	Massena, New York 	second
81	 	 	D 	L 	25 	2017 	Košice, Slovakia 	third
71	 	 	C 	L 	24 	2015 	Woodbridge, Ontario 	third
79	 	 	C 	L 	25 	2016 	Robbinsville, New Jersey 	second
1 	 	 	G 	L 	37 	2021 	Newmarket, Ontario 	first
52	 	 	D 	R 	23 	2017 	Englewood, Colorado 	second
38	 	 	LW 	L 	23 	2022 	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 	first
77	 	– A 	D 	L 	31 	2009 	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden 	fourth ,
17	 	– A 	LW 	L 	32 	2007 	Halifax, Nova Scotia 	fourth ,
86	 	 	RW 	L 	28 	2011 	Maykop, Russia 	fourth ,
14	 	 	LW 	L 	34 	2019 	St. Louis, Missouri 	fourth ,
27	 	– A 	D 	L 	32 	2018 	Saint Paul, Minnesota 	fourth ,
16	 	 	C 	R 	33 	2022 	Consort, Alberta 	first
18	 	 	LW 	L 	31 	2011 	Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia	fourth ,
20	 	 	LW 	L 	27 	2022 	Mississauga, Ontario 	first
10	 	 	RW 	R 	37 	2021 	Peterborough, Ontario 	fourth
21	 	 	C 	R 	26 	2014 	Calgary, Alberta 	third
93	 	 	C 	L 	25 	2022 	Trois-Rivières, Quebec 	first
44	 	 	D 	R 	31 	2019 	Písek, Czechoslovakia 	third
98	 	 	D 	L 	23 	2017 	Nizhmekamsk, Russia 	third
91	 	– C 	C 	R 	32 	2008 	Markham, Ontario 	fourth ,
88	 	 	G 	L 	27 	2012 	Tyumen, Russia 	fourth ,
===Colorado Avalanche===
# 	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Age	Acquired	Place of birth 	Finals appearance
60	 	 	G 	L 	22 	2018 	Kempele, Finland 	first
16	 	 	RW 	R 	26 	2021 	Sorel, Quebec 	first
95	 	 	LW 	L 	27 	2019 	Klagenfurt, Austria 	second
4 	 	 	D 	L 	21 	2019 	Cranbrook, British Columbia 	first
11	 	 	LW 	L 	34 	2022 	Toronto, Ontario 	second
37	 	 	C 	R 	27 	2015 	Northbrook, Illinois 	first
39	 	 	G 	R 	32 	2018 	Plzeň, Czechoslovakia 	first
49	 	 	D 	L 	24 	2017 	Roberval, Quebec 	first
43	 	 	C 	L 	35 	2021 	St. Andrews, Manitoba 	third
6 	 	 	D 	R 	34 	2011 	Bloomington, Minnesota 	first
3 	 	 	D 	L 	35 	2021 	Indianapolis, Indiana 	first
91	 	 	C 	L 	31 	2019 	London, Ontario 	first
35	 	 	G 	L 	32 	2021 	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 	first
92	 	– C 	LW 	L 	29 	2011 	Stockholm, Sweden 	first
62	 	 	LW 	L 	26 	2022 	Piikkiö, Finland 	second
56	 	 	D 	L 	28 	2021 	Quebec City, Quebec 	first
29	 	– A 	C 	R 	26 	2013 	Halifax, Nova Scotia 	first
8 	 	 	D 	R 	23 	2017 	Calgary, Alberta 	first
42	 	 	D 	R 	30 	2022 	Hinsdale, Illinois 	first
59	 	 	C 	L 	23 	2022 	Delano, Minnesota 	first
32	 	 	G 	L 	26 	2019 	Stacy, Minnesota 	first
28	 	 	D 	L 	28 	2021 	Regina, Saskatchewan 	first
18	 	 	C 	L 	21 	2019 	St. John’s, Newfoundland 	first
13	 	 	RW 	L 	27 	2019 	Chelyabinsk, Russia 	first
25	 	 	RW 	R 	25 	2018 	Missouri City, Texas 	first
96	 	– A 	RW 	L 	25 	2015 	Nousiainen, Finland 	first
78	 	 	C 	L 	27 	2022 	Augsburg, Germany 	first
7 	 	 	D 	L 	28 	2020 	Abbotsford, British Columbia	first
==Media rights==
In Canada, this was the eighth consecutive Stanley Cup Finals broadcast by Sportsnet and CBC Television in English, and TVA Sports in French. The series was also streamed on Sportsnet Now and Rogers NHL Live.
In the United States, the series was televised on ABC and streamed on ESPN+. This was the first year of a seven-year deal in which ABC/ESPN+ broadcasted the Finals in even years and TNT televised the series in odd years. With coverage on ABC, 2022 was the first time that the Finals were carried in their entirety on broadcast television since 1980 (which was aired primarily by the Hughes Television Network, but with CBS acquiring the rights to the series-deciding Game 6 as a one-off CBS Sports Spectacular broadcast).
==References==
 
Stanley Cup Finals
Category:Stanley Cup Finals
Category:Colorado Avalanche games
Category:Tampa Bay Lightning games