Stanley Cup Final 2021: Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Montreal Canadiens to Claim Second Straight Title

The Tampa Bay Lightning have done it again. During Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning [...]

By Brian Jones

The Tampa Bay Lightning have done it again. During Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Lightning took down the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Wednesday to win the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive year. Additionally, this is the third overall championship for the team that was founded in 1992.

The 2020-21 season was a strong one for Tampa Bay, finishing with a 36-17-3 record and a third seed in the central division. They defeated the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs before taking down the Carolina Hurricanes in the second. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Lightning were able to get past the New York Islanders in seven games.

Brayden Point anchored the Lightning, leading the team in goals (23) and points (48). He is no stranger to coming up big for his team, scoring the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final last year. Steven Stamkos is the team captain and finished the year with 17 goals and 17 assists. He's a six-time All-Star and was on the cover of EA Sports NHL 12. Those two players along with a strong group of talented athletes became the first team to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

"The players are aware of it. The players, it's almost player-driven," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. It's not that we make a big deal of it. I think we all know the realities of the sport. Our team's been well-documented.

"Finally getting over the hump last year and then remarkably being able to stick together for one more crack at it. I don't see the circumstances of what happened last year happening again and I know the players don't see that. I think you guys all know what I meant by the last day of school. It's a bond that this group has carried together for the last two years and it's special. This doesn't come around very often, and I think the players, they know this. And that's why it doesn't take a whole ton to motivate this group."

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