2021 Stanley Cup Final: The Tampa Bay Lightning repeat as Stanley Cup Champions

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the 2021 Stanley Cup Champions after winning Game 5.

It is back-to-back for the Tampa Bay Lightning who beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final to win their second consecutive championship, and this year they were able to celebrate in front of a packed Amalie Arena.

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Tampa becomes just the ninth franchise in the long and rich history of the NHL to repeat, and the first since the Pittsburgh Penguins accomplished the feat in 2015-16 and 2016-17, and it is also their third cup after winning in 2004 and 2020.

It was quite the postseason for the Lightning who dominated all the way through, beating the Florida Panthers in six in the First Round, the Carolina Hurricanes in five in the Second Round, the New York Islanders in seven in the semifinals and the Canadiens in five in the Stanley Cup Final.

Tampa never trailed through the first three games of the series against the Habs and were in position to become the first team since the Detroit Red Wings in 1998 to sweep, but Josh Anderson‘s game-winner in Overtime forced a Game 5.

Tampa Bay Lightning win Game 5 to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions

Boasting a wealth of playoff experience, however, the Lightning improved to 15-0 after a lost over the past two offeasons, which is testament to both how talented and how dominant this team really is.

And, as was the case throughout the Stanley Cup Final, it was Tampa’s depth that really rose to the occasion as rookie forward Ross Colton scored the only goal of Game 5 and the cup-clinching goal at 13:27 in the second period, finishing off a feed from defenseman David Savard with the two both winning the first Stanley Cup of their careers.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves on 22 shots for his fifth shutout in the Lightning’s last five series-clinching games, which is just an incredible stat and he was the worthy winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Vasilevskiy pitched five shutouts this postseason, including one in every series-clinching win, and he is the first goalie to win the Conn Smythe since LA Kings netminder Jonathan Quick was crowned MVP of the 2012 Playoffs.

It was just another season of excellence from Tampa Bay who are creating their own mini dynasty and, while salary cap troubles will ensure that certain pieces will have to depart in the offseason, they should still be a main contender in 2020-21.

They outshot the Canadiens by a combined total of 17-8 in this series, while Canada’s long and painful drought without a Stanley Cup has now stretched to 28 years, with Montreal the last team to win a championship way back in 1993.

It isn’t an overstatement to suggest that the Lightning are a generational team, and they were able to go back-to-back thanks to a star-laden roster, an explosive offense, one of the best power plays in the NHL, elite goaltending, one of the strongest blueline units in the league and incredible depth.

This Tampa Bay Lightning team is just special and it is fitting that they got to lift Lord Stanley at Amalie Arena in front of a packed building and their families around them after not being able to do so last year due to the Pandemic, and tonight’s success and celebration will just feel that little bit sweeter.

That is the 2020-21 NHL season officially in the books and it will be one that will live long in the memory due to how unprecedented it was. We will of course break down the Tampa Bay Lightning going back-to-back as Stanley Cup Champions in depth over the next few days, before turning our attention to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Thanks for joining us on the ride! Here’s to an exciting and busy offseason!