Title To Tampa

Sixteen years is quite a wait. But for fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning, it was well worth it. After the way last season ended, by getting swept by the Blue Jackets in the first round after having the best record in the NHL, the Bolts came in with one thing on their mind: redemption. It is a chance, this season, to shake off what was last year. And the Lightning did that. Last night, they beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 in game six to capture the teams second championship in the franchises twenty eight year history.

Tampa had a lot to learn from heading into this title run. They were a good offensive team, but last year's loss to the Jackets, they got pushed around in the series. This year, before the playoffs, the Lightning reloaded on size and physical play, which proved to be huge as the playoffs wore on.

What the Lightning did in the six game win over Dallas was had balance from their lineup. They got clutch plays at the right time from everybody. Every Tampa player in this series was a factor in some way, shape or form. Big defensive stop, big hit, timely goal, Tampa had it all going for them in the six games. There were times in this series, where it looked like Tampa might make mistakes. There were stretches in the series where they were either getting outplayed, or spending too much time in the box, giving a very game Dallas team a lot of chances.

I'll give credit where its due, Dallas put up a good fight in the series. They got a jump on a tired Bolts team at the start of the series, and staved off elimination thanks to Corey Perry's heroics in double overtime in game five. Hats off to the Stars for what they managed to do to even get to the finals. They were just outplayed by the better team, as the series went along.

Tampa had a huge series from guys like Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov led all playoff scorers in assists  with 27 and points with 34, while Point lead the league in goals with 14. The big guns for the Bolts contributed when needed to, and they also got contributions from the role guys like Blake Coleman, who scored the second goal in the clincher. Then you had Vasilevskiy, who had a 1.90 goals against and a .927 save percentage. There were stretches during the playoffs where Vasilevskiy looked a little shaky, but he would come up with the big save when the Bolts really needed him to.

As for MVP of the playoffs, that award went to Victor Hedman. Hedman finished with 10 goals and 22 points, including an overtime winner against Boston in the 2nd round. Sure, Kucherov and Point had the better offensive production for Tampa, but Hedman was the best all around player on the ice. He joins Brad Richards as the only Lightning players to ever, the 11th defenseman, and first since Duncan Keith in 2015 to win the award.

Hats off to the Tampa Bay Lightning, your 2020 Stanley Cup Champions!