The wait for Tampa Bay — and the NHL — was long enough after the Lightning clinched the Stanley Cup with a 2-0 win in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars on Monday night in Edmonton, Alberta.
The Lightning raised the Cup 363 days after the first puck was dropped on the 2019-20 season, and some 6 ½ months after hockey was put on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We knew what we were capable of with our whole roster, and we were pretty thankful to get the opportunity to come back and play,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “Right from Day 1, we were focused and dialed in on a mission. And now, we can say mission accomplished.”
The Lightning’s title, their second after winning in 2004, was historic.
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Tampa Bay Lighting's Nikita Kucherov kisses the Stanley Cup while skating around Amalie Arena, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photo: Dirk Shadd / Associated PressTampa Bay Lighting's Nikita Kucherov kisses the Stanley Cup while skating around Amalie Arena, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Tampa Bay Lighting's Nikita Kucherov kisses the Stanley Cup while skating around Amalie Arena, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Tampa Bay Lighting's Nikita Kucherov kisses the Stanley Cup while skating around Amalie Arena, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
In becoming the first team to win the Cup after the month of June, the Lightning also became the first to win 18 playoff games, including two in a preliminary-round seeding series, as opposed to the standard 16. And they did so while spending 65 days in the NHL bubble, starting in Toronto before relocating to Edmonton for the conference finals.
While the Lightning traveled home Tuesday to prepare for a fan rally and boat parade along the Hillsborough River set for Wednesday, the NHL turns its attention to next week, when the two-day draft — to be conducted remotely — opens Oct. 6, followed by the start of free agency three days later.
It remains unclear when the 2020-21 season will open, either in December or early January, though the plan is to squeeze in a full 82-game schedule.
For now, the Lightning can savor the moment and prepare to finally be reunited with their family and friends.
“It takes a lot to be in a bubble for 80 days or whatever long it was,” said playoff MVP Victor Hedman. “But it’s all worth it now.”
• For the Stars, the offseason likely begins with head coach Rick Bowness shedding the interim tag.
Bowness, 65, has been behind NHL benches in parts of five different decades. After Dallas wrapped up the Western Conference finals two weeks ago, general manager Jim Nill said Bowness “definitely” had earned the right to come back as head coach. Team owner Tom Gaglardi has indicated the same.
Bowness was hired by Dallas before the 2018-19 season as an assistant for first-year head coach Jim Montgomery, who was fired for off-ice issues in December.
ELSEWHERE
Tottenham eliminates Chelsea
Tottenham staged a second-half comeback before eliminating Chelsea on penalties to reach the quarterfinals of the League Cup.
The first nine penalties were all successfully converted before Chelsea’s Mason Mount missed the target to ensure Tottenham advanced 5-4 in the shootout after the game ended 1-1.
Softball: Team USA pitcher Cat Osterman is the first Athletes Unlimited champion. The league crowned her its individual champion based on points scored in games played during a five-week season played in a bubble at a sports complex in Rosemont, Ill.
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Lightning savor Cup win as NHL enters short offseason - SFGate
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