Scott Edwards ‘21
Associate Editor in Chief
A season that began almost a year ago today finally came to an end on Monday night as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars in six games to win the Stanley Cup. This season will go down as one of the most unique as the entire playoffs were completed inside a bubble between Edmonton and Toronto, Canada.
The Lightning was a major favorite all season long and managed to finally win the Cup after their dreadful performance in last year’s playoffs. Winning with no fans in attendance has to be something to get used to, but many of the players throughout the league have been very open about it still being hockey and winning matters just as much in this special season.
Tampa Bay came into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed following a successful run in the round-robin tournament following the restart of the season. They rode that position to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders to get to the finals. Dallas had an interesting road themselves, as they were not expected to make it this far but did by defeating the Calgary Flames, the Western Conference favorites Colorado Avalanche, and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman won the Conn Smythe Trophy honors as the most valuable player throughout the entire playoffs. Hedman played in all 25 games for the Lightning, registering 10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points, and a fantastic plus/minus of 13. The ability to average almost half of the game on ice only made him that more important.
The upcoming NHL season is expected to begin in January, so the celebration will not be as long as usual with the offseason being cut short. The Lightning should remain one of the favorites to win it all again next season with their loaded roster.
