Lightning hold record for shortest span between winning titles

Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) hoists the Stanley Cup after the Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in Game 5 to win the 2021 Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena. Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Lightning hold record for shortest span between winning championships

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 7/8/21

Sure, plenty of professional sports teams have won back-to-back championships in the past. But, apparently, no team has done it as quickly as the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

As ESPN Stats & Info shared via Twitter on Thursday, Elias Sports taps the Lightning's repeat championship run as the shortest in the history of all the major sports in the country.

The Lightning went 282 days between titles. Per @EliasSports, this is the shortest span between two Stanley Cup championships, NFL championships, World Series championships or NBA championships.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 8, 2021

Of course, the pandemic and truncated seasons played a huge role in making that window of time between Cup Finals so short. Still, Tampa Bay deserves credit for getting there two years in a row in the first place.

The Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night, hoisting Lord Stanley's Mug on home ice. They tried for a series sweep, but Montreal held them off with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4 -- a game that also has some historical value.

The @CanadiensMTL were just the second team ever to stave off a four-game sweep in the Cup Final with an overtime win. The Bruins did that against the Canadiens in 1946 but fell in five games. #GoHabsGo | #GoBolts | #NHL pic.twitter.com/zDNKhhRBmG
— Elias Sports Bureau (@EliasSports) July 7, 2021