The Tampa Bay Lightning have defended the Stanley Cup and won the Cup Final series in five games over the Montreal Canadiens. They are the sixth team in NHL history to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions and the first team since the 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins to win back-to-back Cups. In addition, Pat Maroon becomes the first player in NHL history to win three straight Stanley Cups.
I understand that casual fans and fans of other teams may not be too happy about how this year's Cup Final went down and say it was unfair because Tampa was roughly $18 million over the salary cap heading into the playoffs. However, I am very pleased with the results, mainly because the Lightning are my second favorite NHL team. I also believe the Bolts don't get enough credit for their amazing feat that they just accomplished. Many of you may recall that Tampa got swept in the first round by the Blue Jackets after winning the Presidents' Trophy two seasons ago and won the first of their back-to-back Cups in an empty arena last year to get to this point.
Here's a quick recap of each game in the Cup Final this year leading up to the Bolts' Cup victory:
Game 1: The Lightning defeat the Canadiens 5-1. Nikita Kucherov scores twice for the Lightning, while Erik Cernak, Yanni Gourde, and Steven Stamkos each score once. Ben Chiarot scores the lone Canadiens goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves, while Carey Price made 22 saves. The first game was a mostly lopsided affair in favor of Tampa, in which the Bolts' offense was much stronger than that of the Habs.
Game 2: The Lightning defeat the Canadiens 3-1 and take a 2-0 series lead despite being outshot 43-23 and not playing their best game. Anthony Cirelli, Blake Coleman, and Ondrej Palat each scored for the Lightning, while Nick Suzuki scored the only goal for the Canadiens. The biggest factor as to why the Bolts stayed in this game and held on to win was Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 42 saves and had an incredible performance in net. In addition, Blake Coleman's go-ahead goal in the dying seconds of the middle frame was one of the best goals of these playoffs, receiving a great pass from former San Jose Shark Barclay Goodrow and making a diving one-handed shot to find the back of the net at the right place at the right time.
Game 3: The Lightning continue to dominate in the Cup Final and beat the Canadiens 6-3 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. Tyler Johnson scored two goals, while Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov each record a goal and assist. In addition, Victor Hedman became the first player in NHL history to score a goal in each of the 12 calendar months. The other two goal scorers for the Lightning in Game 3 were Jan Rutta and Blake Coleman. As for the Canadiens, Philip Danault, Nick Suzuki, and Corey Perry each scored for Montreal in their losing effort. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 of 35 shots against, while Carey Price stopped 24 of 29 shots against.
Game 4: The Canadiens avoid getting swept and force Game 5 by winning 3-2 in overtime. Josh Anderson scored the game-winning goal for the Canadiens in overtime along with the first goal of the game for Montreal's first lead in the entire Cup Final series. In addition, Alexander Romanov scored his first career playoff goal in Game 4 of the Cup Final. As for the Lightning, Barclay Goodrow and Pat Maroon each scored important game-tying goals in the second and third periods respectively. In other words, the Habs were the more desperate team in Game 4 and definitely played like it throughout the game.
Game 5: Ross Colton scores the Cup-clinching goal for the Lightning as Tampa blanks the Canadiens 1-0 to win the Cup in their home arena in front of a sellout crowd. David Savard and Ryan McDonagh assisted on the only goal of Game 5. Andrei Vasilevskiy only needed to make 22 saves to earn the shutout and ultimately win the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. The only player that kept Montreal in Game 5 and gave the Habs a chance to force Game 6 was Carey Price, who basically stood on his head for much of this game and made 29 saves on 30 shots against.
I also want to congratulate the Montreal Canadiens on an unbelievable run to the Cup Final this year. Despite having the least amount of regular season points out of all teams in this year's playoff pool, they proved their doubters wrong and performed exceptionally well leading up to their first Cup Final appearance since 1993. The Habs should be taken more seriously heading into next season and beyond because they have shown in these playoffs that they are capable of great things.
A few closing thoughts:
The trade that Doug Wilson made at the 2019-20 Trade Deadline sending Barclay Goodrow to the Bolts was definitely worth a first-round pick in return, especially now that Goodrow has won two consecutive Stanley Cups since that trade occurred.
Andrei Vasilevskiy winning the Conn Smythe Trophy this year has solidified his status as the best goaltender in the world right now.
Now that the NHL offseason has officially begun, I can't wait to see what goes down across the league between now and the start of next season in October. I especially want to see what magic Doug Wilson has up his sleeve to improve the Sharks and get them back to being the perennial playoff contender that we all knew and loved, along with the roster that the Seattle Kraken will form during the expansion draft.
Sources: NBC Sports, NHL App
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