Nichushkin dominating for Avalanche in Stanley Cup Final

Valeri Nichushkin stood in front of a poster of Alex Ovechkin hoisting the Stanley Cup on the eve of his first trip to the final and remembered what it was like to witness that moment.

“That was fun to watch when Ovi win it, especially when he celebrated,” he said. “I think that was one of the best things.”

One thing better for Nichushkin would be hoisting hockey’s holy grail himself.

“I hope so,” he said. “We’ll see.”

Nichushkin and the Colorado Avalanche are two wins away from doing just that, and the big Russian winger is a big reason why they’ll take a 2-1 lead over the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning into Game 4 on Wednesday. He was tied for the team lead in goals with three, set up Andre Burakovsky for his overtime winner in the series opener and scored in Game 3 before it was called back for an oh-so-close offside.

He has consistently been the best player on the ice in the final, hounding the puck, forcing turnovers and creating offense.

“He’s built for this time of year,” coach Jared Bednar said. “Big, long, strong, fast, tenacious, hungry, relentless on the puck, finishing off the chances he gets. He can play with top guys. You can move him up and down the lineup, plays power play, penalty kill. I mean, I don’t know what else to say about the guy.”

Nichushkin, who hasn’t spoken to reporters since the series began, has been a pest on defense, as usual, but has added some offense that was missing for much of his playoff career in the NHL.

Over his first 28 postseason games with the Dallas Stars and Avalanche, Nichushkin had just one goal and two assists. That included a 25-game goal drought.

This postseason, he is among Colorado’s goal-scoring leaders with eight, trailing just Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Nichushkin has received Selke Trophy votes for the league’s top defensive forward each of the past three seasons, but this offensive evolution is a development even his coach…