TAMPA, Fla.– The Tampa Bay Lightning are back-to-back Stanley Cup champs– and they did it in a nine-month span.” This group, no matter what takes place from here on out, this group is going to be etched in history forever, and thats pretty Fing unique,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “Im so happy with the guys. You cant soak it in. Its so fresh. Its so brand-new. You do not even understand whats going to occur. We won the Stanley Cup and we still have the Stanley Cup. Thats just remarkable.” Tampa Bay defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in Game 5 on Wednesday in the house, becoming the first string to repeat as champion considering that the 2016 and 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy and recorded his fifth straight shutout in a series-clinching game.With the win, the Lightning enhanced to 15-0 immediately following a loss over the previous 2 postseasons, the longest such streak in NHL history. Beating Montreal is the 15th series win for the Lightning given that 2015. In that period, no other group has won more than 9 series.” COVID, going in the bubble for 60-plus days, beginning the year with COVID, no fans, having a reduced season basically, then recuperating after we won the Cup 2 months later, then starting the season once again with 56 video games, and its back-to-backs every other day, it take state a lot,” veteran forward Pat Maroon stated. “To win the Stanley Cup, people are banged up, people are harmed.” 3hGreg Wyshynski2hGreg Wyshynski2hGreg Wyshynski2 RelatedTampa Bay was without veteran forward Alex Killorn, who obstructed a shot by Jeff Petry in Game 1. Killorn exposed Wednesday night that he had a broken fibula and underwent surgical treatment recently to have a rod inserted into his leg.” I attempted for Game 4, however plainly it wasnt sufficient. It got worse after attempting it,” Killorn said. “If it boiled down to it, I probably would have played the next game or Game 7, however the young boys were good enough that didnt have to occur.” Said defenseman Victor Hedman: “That states a lot about our group. People wished to compromise whatever it took to be a back-to-back Stanley Cup winner. Thats the self-confidence we had entering into the playoffs.” Tampa Bay dominated the first duration of Game 5, holding a 13-8 edge in shots and 16-8 edge in regulated entries, however might not get a puck past Canadiens goalie Carey Price. Rookie Ross Colton broke open the scoring 13:27 into the second period. Colton was established on the objective by defenseman David Savard, the only other gamer on Tampa Bays roster who had actually not won a Stanley Cup.The Lightning beat the Dallas Stars in September to win in the Edmonton bubble. The franchises just other Stanley Cup win was available in 2004. Due to pandemic constraints in Canada, the Lightning celebrated last year mainly without family members allowed presence. Had Tampa Bay won in Game 4 on Monday– becoming the first string to sweep the Stanley Cup Final in 23 years– that would have been the case again. The Canadian government did not give additional exemptions for family members to cross the border and skirt the federal 14-day quarantine, something the NHL had actually negotiated for teams for the last 2 rounds.Instead– as Tampa Mayor Jane Castor jokingly suggested previously today– the Lightning had the ability to clinch on house ice, celebrating in a packed arena and with loved ones.” We had a chance last video game in Montreal to win it, and we didnt, and after that they get some life and can be found in here,” Stamkos said. “But we simply said, its a chance. Its a chance to win in front of our fans, its a chance to win in front of our family, and those 2 groups didnt get an opportunity to commemorate with us in 2015. And that was motivation.” The Cup also marked an individual three-peat for Maroon, who won with his hometown St. Louis Blues in 2019. No NHL player had won 3 straight Cups considering that 1983, when 15 New York Islanders concluded their fourth in a row. No player had actually won three straight Cups with two various groups given that 1964.” I was sobbing basically on the bench with 1:40 left,” Maroon said. “I could not even throw my things off since its just, being a Stanley Cup champ 3 years in a row is quite unique. It takes a group, 25 guys, and we did it. Im going to think back about this when I retire with my son, however Im going to soak everything in.” The Canadiens were heavy underdogs getting in the Final and had the worst points percentage (.527) of any group to qualify for the 16-team playoff field. Montreal did not hold a lead at any point against Tampa Bay till Josh Anderson scored in the very first duration of Game 4– snapping a streak of 195 minutes, 39 seconds.” The strength that we showed– simply an excellent team to be a part of,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher stated. “As painful as this is right now, often you require to feel this to call yourself the champ.” Lightning star Nikita Kucherov took an unprompted shot at Montreal in his postgame press conference, which he appeared at shirtless.” Im so happy, I didnt want to go back to Montreal,” Kucherov stated. “The fans in Montreal, begun. They imitated they won the Stanley Cup last game. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Their final was the last series, OK?” Kucherov likewise was defensive about his goalie and great pal, Vasilevskiy: “If he played in a various market, he would win the Vezina every year.” The Lightning were expected to make substantial roster changes after in 2015s Cup to stay salary-cap certified. But Kucherov went through hip surgical treatment on Dec. 29 and was sidelined for the entire regular season, which allowed basic manager Julien BriseBois to keep his lineup mainly intact. Kucherov returned for Game 1 of the very first round and was spectacular throughout the whole playoffs, leading all scorers with 32 points– nine more than any other gamer.” I do not understand anybody who can miss the whole routine season, come back and do what he did,” forward Blake Coleman said. “He should have all the credit.” The Lightning also put veteran Tyler Johnson– who led them in scoring in their 2015 Stanley Cup Final run– on waivers twice, and he went unclaimed each time. Johnson was one of Tampa Bays essential depth players in the 2021 run, consisting of scoring twice in Game 3. Stamkos said two times during the postseason, the group openly resolved what the remainder of the hockey world understands is coming: “This is realistically the last time were going to have the opportunity to all play together.”

We won the Stanley Cup and we still have the Stanley Cup. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe Trophy and tape-recorded his fifth straight shutout in a series-clinching game.With the win, the Lightning enhanced to 15-0 instantly following a loss over the past two postseasons, the longest such streak in NHL history.” COVID, going in the bubble for 60-plus days, beginning the year with COVID, no fans, having a reduced season generally, then bouncing back after we won the Cup 2 months later on, then starting the season once again with 56 video games, and its back-to-backs every other day, it take say a lot,” veteran forward Pat Maroon stated. Colton was set up on the objective by defenseman David Savard, the only other gamer on Tampa Bays roster who had not won a Stanley Cup.The Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars in September to win in the Edmonton bubble. Its a chance to win in front of our fans, its a chance to win in front of our family, and those 2 groups didnt get a possibility to commemorate with us last year.