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Nico Sturm (78) during the Colorado Avalanche finals series against the Tampa Bay Lightning
Photo:
IMAGO/Dirk Shadd / IMAGO/ZUMA Wire
Ice hockey pro Nico Sturm has to wait with the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup.
The Denver team lost game five of the NHL Finals series to defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning 2-3.
This means that Colorado is only 3:2 in the best-of-seven series.
On Monday night (2 a.m.; TV: Sky) Sturm and Co. have their next chance at the championship title.
Sturm came up with 6:07 minutes ice time, but could not prevent the Avalanche's first home defeat in the final series.
Ondrej Palat scored the winning goal in the fifth game with just over six minutes remaining.
His shot slipped between the legs of Avalanche goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper.
On the other side, star goalkeeper Andrej Wassilewski parried 35 shots on the Lightning goal.
'We've extended the season.
That's what we wanted, "said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos: "We found a way, now we have to do it again." The defending champion would only be the second team after Toronto Maple Leafs 1942, after a 1-3 still win the Stanley Cup in the final series.
Sturm, who was traded from Minnesota Wild to Denver just three months ago, would become the fifth German to win hockey's most coveted trophy.
Before him, Uwe Krupp was successful with Colorado in 1996 and with Detroit Red Wings in 2002 (without making a final appearance), Dennis Seidenberg in 2011 with Boston Bruins, Tom Kühnhackl in 2016 and 2017 with Pittsburgh Penguins and Philipp Grubauer in 2018 with Washington Capitals.
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