It didn’t have all the bells and whistles of an average Stanley Cup Final, but the passion was very much there.
It was evident, there was no question.
No fans sat in the stands, the game being contested in a bubble in Edmonton, Ontario, Canada, but last night, all the Tampa Bay Lighting cared about was the fact that they had just made a city in Florida the city of champions of a sport played on ice.
The Lightning battled the Dallas Stars for six games before earning the series’ clinching, championship-winning contest last night by a score of 2-0.
A large part of the shutout victory was the always-reliable goaltending of Russian goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevskiy, who posted 22 saves when it mattered most in game 6. Thanks to his 1.000% save percentage, the Lightning were able to focus more on the offensive attack. Tampa Bay struck with one goal apiece in both the first and second periods, as Blake Coleman and Brayden Point each found the back of the net.
While he was not a focal point with Tampa Bay this season, defenseman Brayden Coburn certainly was a key part in the leadership of this squad, especially in last night’s key contest. The victory brought him full circle, back to the Stanley Cup finals, where he had lost twice before, once in 2010 with Chicago, and then again in 2015 with Tampa. For many of these players it was the first time they had finished the season on a championship team.
"With [Coburn], I think this is his third Final, and this is what I say about this group, that [Coburn] didn't play that many games in these playoffs, but he still kept this unbelievable attitude and he kept rallying the troops as well," said Victor Hedman, who was named the MVP of the 2020 Finals, when talking about Coburn on TV. "Everyone wants to play, but [Coburn] just had a great attitude, he kept cheering the boys on, he kept pushing us, he kept skating every day, he pushed the guys that were skating. He's just an all-around great athlete that has fought so hard. A lot of guys have been a part of this for a long time, and [Coburn] is one of those guys."
In a year to expect the unexpected, many things took place that had never happened before...and may never happen again. Consider the fact that a team from Florida played a team from Texas for the NHL championship title. Additionally, that this was the first time in NHL history that the postseason was played in September and the first time it was played in a bubble, not at the home rinks of any of the teams competing. Of course, there weren't fans, either. The seats were covered with tarps.
But as the Stanley Cup was hoisted high by Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay was on top of the world. The squad, who came to Edmonton, after having finished the regular season 1-4 on the road, rattled off a 12-5 record in the postseason, overcame a disastrous 4-1 loss to open the Stanley Cup Finals, and had earned just the franchise's second Stanley Cup.
This very well could be the beginning of the future for Tampa Bay pro sports. The Rays enter the MLB playoffs Tuesday as the top seed in the AL. The Buccaneers have the duo of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkoswki leading the way. It has been a successful year thus far for the pro sports scene in the Florida city and has begun with the Tampa Bay Lightning’s championship victory in Edmonton last evening.
"It's the best moment of our hockey lives,"said Hedman following the game. "It's what you imagine all your life".
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