Tampa Bay Lightning win 2020 Stanley Cup Final

The Tampa Bay Lightning were crowned NHL champions and hoisted the Stanley Cup on Monday night with a 2-0 shutout win over the Dallas Stars in Game 6. This title feels as if it has been a long time coming for the Lightning, whose young core fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Cup Final and a few years later overcame a heart-breaking first-round upset sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. With a flat salary cap set to blow up the roster this offseason, it almost seemed inevitable that this Lightning team would emerge victorious with the franchise’s second championship before the impressive group was torn apart. It also seems fitting that such a truly talented and title-worthy team will go down in history for winning the “bubble Cup”.

Tampa Bay won the Cup in style, too. The Bolts were one of just two teams to actually earn their regular-season seeding in the round robin, entering the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 2 seed. Their path to victory first included vengeance against the Blue Jackets in a five-game series that included a historic five-overtime win in Game 1 and another overtime win to seal the series. Tampa then took on its greatest rival, the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, and made quick work of the talented team in five games, again clinching the series in extra time with a double-overtime victory. 

Next up were the New York Islanders, who had upset higher seeds in each of their first two series and had smothered opposing defenses. The Isles couldn’t keep it going against the Lightning, however, falling in six games with Tampa again winning the final game in overtime. Finally, the Stanley Cup Final arrived with a matchup against the Dallas Stars, who had defeated championship favorites Colorado and Vegas en route to the title bout. However, Dallas could not keep the upset streak going, with Tampa Bay taking the series in six games with a decisive shutout victory.