Andre Burakovsky Praised for OT Winner as Avs Beat Lightning in Game 1

(Bleacher Report)

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

How about that for a Game 1?

Andre Burakovsky gave the Colorado Avalanche a 1-0 advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night, scoring the game-winning goal one minute and 23 seconds into overtime to give the Avs a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

NHL @NHL

OT WINNER FROM ANDRE BURAKOVSKY!!! 🔥 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Bp3mQJyUyV

ESPN @espn

“This is a dream since I was a kid.”

—@andreburakovsky after scoring the game-winning goal in Game 1 of the #StanleyCup Final pic.twitter.com/m3KXYcKILu

Not surprisingly, his huge goal was the talk of Twitter after the game:

Grant Paulsen @granthpaulsen

Andre Burakovsky just scored an OT game-winner in the Stanley Cup. That’s my baby boy. pic.twitter.com/s3YI7F3ueV

Samantha Pell @SamanthaJPell

Tonight wasn’t the first time Andre Burakovsky has played hero for his team vs Tampa.

In 2018 with WSH, he scored two goals in a Game 7 win in the Eastern Conference finals vs Tampa. We know what happened next.

Zach @_jewy_

The Tampa bay lightning when they see Andre Burakovsky pic.twitter.com/YCGObVe7sg

Peter Baugh @Peter_Baugh

Andre Burakovsky just scored the biggest goal of his career.

Avs lead the series 1-0.

Pierre LeBrun @PierreVLeBrun

Burakovsky on the one-timer, Avs win 4-3 in OT.
This is going to be such a fun series. High-event hockey.

Jesse Montano @jessemontano_

What an unbelievable pass from Nichushkin. Great look, and great patience to throw that puck back across the grain, and a great finish from Burakovsky.

That was a fantastic game.

Mark Scheig @markscheig

Andre Burakovsky can shoot a puck. Biggest shot of his life so far.

Lukas Weese @Weesesports

Andre Burakovsky with the OT winner for the Avalanche.

This Stanley Cup Final is going to be AWESOME.

Burakovsky was given his flowers, and justifiably so, but this was a wild game that played out over three acts.

Act One: The Avs jumped to 2-0 and 3-1 leads behind goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen.

NHL @NHL

LET THE SCORING BEGIN. #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: ABC ➡️ https://t.co/MaghIRjzUG
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/MOir2YeltA pic.twitter.com/scGluR3TUT

NHL @NHL

Valeri Nichushkin is up and running! #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: ABC ➡️ https://t.co/MaghIR1Yw6
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/MOir2YvWl8 pic.twitter.com/1pxnpnLenY

NHL @NHL

Artturi Lehkonen with the perfeeeeeect deflection! 👌 #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: ABC ➡️ https://t.co/MaghIRjzUG
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/MOir2YeltA pic.twitter.com/CuhZaL5AAT

Act Two: The Lightning, showing the poise of a two-time defending champion, pulled even behind goals from Ondrej Palat and Mikhail Sergachev within a minute of one another.

NHL @NHL

KUCH. 😳😲🤯 #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: ABC ➡️ https://t.co/MaghIR1Yw6
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/MOir2YvWl8 pic.twitter.com/lZIbzret95

Sportsnet @Sportsnet

Never count out the defending champs 😤

WE. ARE. TIED. #StanleyCup | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/cuHFpgsld0

Act Three: The two teams, after the explosive opening periods, played to a stalemate in the third period before Burakovsky called game in overtime.

We’ve got all the early makings of an epic series here, folks.

The Lightning will look to bounce back in Colorado during Saturday’s Game 2 at 8 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN).

This article was published at Bleacher Report. Read it in its entirety here. Read More