NHL: 30 most unforgettable team runs in league history

NHL: 30 most unforgettable team runs in league history: 30. 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning

It doesn’t take long to find our first run on this list. The Tampa Bay Lightning put together some of the most talented teams of this generation, but they constantly fell short. Sometimes they fell short in the most epic fashion. They lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015. Then, they lost two-straight Conference Finals Game 7s, once against the Capitals and once against the Penguins. Then, there was 2019. The Columbus Blue Jackets ruined the spectacle that came from Tampa when they swept them in the first round.

The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs were unlike anything that’s ever been done before. 24 teams had a chance to advance. They played the entire postseason in Edmonton and Toronto. There were no crowds.

Maybe that helped the Lightning, but the run was far from easy. It started with those same Columbus Blue Jackets that beat them the year before. To be more specific, it started with a five overtime game against the Blue Jackets in Game 1. They won that game, and they ended up winning the series 4-1. Braden Point scored the series-winning goal as he took a bigger role with Steven Stamkos out.

The next series came against the Boston Bruins, which also ended on a series-winning goal. Victor Hedman scored in double overtime to end that series. Against the New York Islanders they, you guessed it, won the series in overtime. In fact, they played overtime in Game 5 and Game 6. On the series-winning goal, Anthony Cirelli became the hero.

A team needed to win in overtime three series in a row to get to the Stanley Cup Final. Then, there was that Steven Stamkos moment. He stayed in the bubble away from his family to play 2:47 in the entire postseason. He scored an epic goal in Game 3, and he immediately had to go to the locker room because he got hurt on the play. It was totally worth it, and the Lightning won the series in six, although they didn’t need overtime this time.