In a span of just nine months, the Tampa Bay Lightning managed to win their second Stanley Cup, after they defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 to claim back-to-back titles in seasons that were tied together by the viral pandemic.
At the Amalie Arena where they played on home ice, the Lightning team shifted away a bit from their electric style in order to match the tenacious grinding play of the Canadiens to win Game 5 and take the series 4-1.
The victory came in front of 17,000+ fans at Amalie Arena, a far cry from last autumn's win in an empty arena in Edmonton, Alberta.
The sole goal on Wednesday night came from winger Ross Colton just over six minutes into the second period, as he poked a pass from defenseman Ryan McDonagh around the back of Montreal goaltender Carey Price. The Lightning managed to fend off the Canadiens through the third period to win the game.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning was crowned the MVP to earn the coveted Conn Smythe trophy.
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said, "This group, no matter what happens from here on out, this group is going to be etched in history forever, and that's pretty F'ing special. I'm so proud of the guys. You can't soak it in yet. It's so fresh. It's so new. You don't even realize what's going to happen. We won the Stanley Cup and we still have the Stanley Cup. That's just amazing."
Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2021/07/07/lightning-top-canadiens-game-5-stanley-cup-repeat/7896173002/
