Last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning made history when they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs - a first-place team, one of the best regular season teams in NHL history, getting swept in the first round by a team that had just barely snuck into the playoffs. It was one of the most embarrassing defeats in franchise history, something that could have (and perhaps should have) crushed the team and its hopes of ever winning a championship with its current blueprint.
Fast-forward over 17 months - through a global pandemic, a shortened regular season, an almost unrecognizable playoff format, and multiple months spent within the NHL Bubble - and the Tampa Bay Lightning have made history again, but this time for a far different reason. They defeated the Dallas Stars in 6 games to win the 2020 Stanley Cup on monday night, bringing home the greatest trophy in sports for the second time in franchise history.
Despite the lack of fans in the crowd, this Stanley Cup Final series was an exciting one. There was no doubt that either of these teams deserved to be there. The Stars, who had started the 2020 season with a 1-7-1 record, were the underdogs who fought tooth-and-nail to get themselves into the Final, riding the incredible play of ex-backup goaltender Anton Khudobin. The Lightning faced lots of adversity in the postseason, particularly when it came to playing time - the team went to overtime eight times through the playoffs, including a Game 1 against Columbus in their first round rematch that lasted eight periods and nearly seven hours. It seemed that this adversity was necessary for a team that is notorious for gliding through the regular season with ease: they went from just being talented to being battle-tested. The Stars were an admirable opponent for Tampa, and it almost feels wrong to say that the Stars lost this series; rather, the Lightning were such an exceptional team, and only their excellence deserves every bit of the credit for the victory.
This cup win for Tampa is special for multiple reasons. It is remarkable that a team nearly identical to the one that got swept by the Blue Jackets in 2019 could come back from such adversity and win a title the next season. As arguably the most talented and complete roster in the league, there was a feeling that the Lightning were stumbling under the pressure to live up to their high expectations. However, it is possible that such a terrible defeat in the 2019 playoffs helped strengthen the team rather than weaken it, giving the group of players an opportunity for growth. Now that they finally met their lofty expectations, it doesn’t feel like something long past due; instead, it feels as if they had to fight for it the hard way, which is exactly what this team needed to prove.
There is also plenty of talk about whether this cup is legitimate, given the nature of the shortened regular season, the unusual playoff format, and ‘bubble hockey.’ There is sure to be NHL fans who claim that the Lightning’s victory has an asterisk next to it, calling their championship the “COVID-Cup.” But this overlooks the fact that this postseason contained so many complications, lacked its typical stability or luxury, and posed unique problems for the players. Bubble life was difficult: not only could the players not see their families for several months, the facilities themselves were subpar, to the point where some players nicknamed their sole outdoor area as the “prison yard.” This, paired with the inherent worries and complications that come with a looming pandemic, undoubtedly had an impact on the mental side of the game. There were also complications with keeping physically fit, maintaining social distancing protocols with the team, using makeshift facilities, and playing games in a crowd-less environment with overused ice, all of which added up to make this postseason abnormally difficult. Logically, it is wrong to say that this cup is illegitimate. Instead, this cup may have been harder to win than any other, making the Lightning’s victory that much more extraordinary.
Tampa now gets to enjoy a Stanley Cup championship for an indefinite amount of time, as next season looms in uncertainty. However, their historic championship doesn’t mark the end of their era; the Lightning’s roster is full of talented players who are set to remain there for a while, a testament to how well Tampa’s management has built this group through free agency, trades, and the draft. This team is likely going to be a Stanley Cup contender for years to come. For now, however, they are safely and deservedly the owners of the Stanley Cup 2020 title.
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