5 Takeaways from Stanley Cup Final Game 5
By Henry Yoho
![(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/87e5a538ce8c8401219d69f8ad40ce8da05898a4ce28e674714e3593d29fd2c7.jpg)
4. Lightning Hanging on by a Thread
Everybody is banged up this time of the year, but this Lightning team is especially going through it. Even without Brayden Point, the bodies still in the lineup have been through the wringer.
Anthony Cirelli managed to still play an effective role despite not taking any faceoffs since his injury in game four. After missing much of the second and the entirety of the third in game four, Erik Cernak displayed one of the gutsier efforts in game five. The guy is a puck magnet, and he always keeps going. He played nearly 20 minutes despite the clear pain he was in.
Playing with five defensemen killed the Lightning in game four, but through all of it they are still here. Up against a better opponent, the Lightning are just managing to hang around.
"I knew I would play."
— Bally Sports Sun: Lightning (@BallyLightning) June 25, 2022
Erik Cernak talks about the @TBLightning's complete team effort, the team putting their bodies on the line, Ondrej Palat and more. #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/Fpr1MTpj15