Stanley Cup Final blog: Alex Newhook

Colorado Avalanche forward Alex Newhook will be keeping his own blog throughout the 2022 Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He will check in regularly with behind-the-scenes access.
In the second entry, Newhook reflects on the Avalanche winning Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final 4-3 in overtime. Playing in his first career Cup Final, Newhook had one hit and one blocked shot in 6:37 of ice time and opens up about his struggle with nerves, the atmosphere surrounding the game, matching up against the two-time defending champion and the relief when Andre Burakovsky scored at 1:23 of overtime after Colorado blew a 3-1 lead in the second period. Game 2 is at Ball Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS).

It's a big win. For us to come out and defend our home ice and get a win in the first game of the series, it's huge for us. It's something we can carry forward.
Tampa Bay has been here before and we haven't, so there is something to that. At the same time, even at the beginning of the game -- and we talked about it in the first period -- we know we can play with these guys, we know we can use our speed. In the first, there were glimpses where we just took over the game, and to have that confidence coming out in the first and knowing we can do that and take it to them a bit was huge.
Getting a win was huge too, that's a team that knows how to win. We'll learn from it and move on.
When Burakovsky scores in overtime, it was a relief, for sure. Everyone is pretty tense in OT. We've done pretty well in OT this postseason and we have guys that are gamers in overtime.
And, that's the thing about OT, it can end in a second. We had a good mindset the whole time. The leadership in our room is really good and made sure we had the same mindset as we do before every period: making sure we come out and have a good start, not worrying about losing the game but more so about attacking and getting the win.
Today, as a whole, was a lot of fun. I'm trying to soak it all in. It's good to be back playing after being off for more than a week. It's a cool stage to be in when you reach the Final. It was a fun day, but it's a lot more fun when you get the win. We're three wins away now and it seems that much closer.
I have to admit I had a lot of trouble napping today. I laid down for two hours and got maybe 10 minutes of sleep; it was tough. I usually get to the rink pretty early and I got here even earlier because I couldn't sleep.
The energy at Ball Arena has been great all playoffs long, but I think the fans brought it to another level tonight. Getting to the rink, it felt like just another game but, obviously, there is more at stake and a closer step to the end goal.
Tomorrow is a bit of an off day for us. I'll try to spend some time with my family, get a nice dinner and get some rest. We know this could be a really long series.