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The Lightning finally did it: the Stanley Cup goes to West Florida. Image: keystone
Revenge of the virtuous and 5 more stories from the 2020 NHL playoffs
The Tampa Bay Lightning are winners of the Stanley Cup for the second time. The Florida team won the final series against the Dallas Stars 4-2, but they not only defeated their opponents, but also their own demons.
Revenge of the virtuous
The Tampa Bay Lightning has been one of the best teams in the NHL for years. But Florida’s tech virtuosos had a reputation that they always fail when something is happening, when the pace gets harder and the other franchises play their best hockey too. Last season, the Lightning won the President’s Trophy for the best team of the regular season, only to fail grandly at the first opportunity.
But this year everything was different. The 2004 Stanley Cup winner deftly strengthened himself and was no longer surprised by the physicality of the competition. The “lightning bolts” held out, broke through in a frenzy and deservedly won the second cup in franchise history. With just six losses in four playoff series, the dominance was more than impressive.
Hedman is still excellent
In the fight for the Norris Trophy for the best defender of the regular season, Victor Hedman had to admit defeat. Behind Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and John Carlson of the Washington Captials, the 29-year-old Swede was only third, although experts have long considered him the best defender in the league.
However, in contrast to Josi and Carlsen, Defense Minister Lightning’s points performance was simply too modest: Hedman scored “just” 11 goals in 44 assists in 66 games. But in the playoffs, the 2018 Norris Trophy winner of Sweden proved he can do different things: In Lightning’s 25 knockout games, he scored 10 goals and 12 assists. An impressive mark for a defensive specialist.
And Hedman was rewarded for his improved performance: As a second defender in the past twelve years, the NHL awarded him the Conn Smythe Trophy as a playoff MVP.
The Fairy Tale Captain Interlude
Steven Stamkos was a living Lightning legend even without a Stanley Cup win. The 30-year-old Canadian has been playing for the West Florida franchise since 2008 and has been the team captain since 2014. In the 2018/19 season, the 2008 No. 1 draft also replaced Vincent Lecavalier as the club’s top scorer, and Stamkos now has 422 goals and 410 assists in 803 games.
However, this season was not a lucky star for Stamkos. After a core muscle operation in March and another training camp injury in mid-July, the six-time All-Star threatened to miss every playoff. But in Game 3 against the Dallas Stars, Stamkos was suddenly on hold again.
Though he only completed five at-bats after a six-month layoff due to injury and only played just under three minutes, they had it all: Stamkos’ only shot on goal was, his 2-0 was the breakthrough goal on the way to his first. advantage in the Stanley Cup. -Final. After that, Stamkos was no longer used, the captain was only asked again when the boat was lifted.
And nobody boo at Bettman
Gary Bettman is far from popular on the American hockey scene. The NHL commissioner has been hailed by fans over the years as the face of greedy officials. On almost every occasion, Bettman was whistled mercilessly in stadiums from Vancouver to Miami. Often times when there was something to celebrate, such as during his speeches before the Stanley Cup.
But this year no one could whistle at the hated NHL boss. Due to the crown pandemic, the NHL playoffs were held without spectators. So Bettman visibly enjoyed the moment of the Stanley Cup delivery for once. Perhaps also because he was not alone in the center circle and called the winning captain. Due to a lack of audience, Lightning requested a change to the usual protocol. And so Bettman was at the center of it all for once instead of just being there.
Bettman with microphone in the middle of the Lightning players. Image: keystone
Defending champion as the ultimate loser
In the final season of the NHL, the St. Louis Blues wrote a Hollywood-style fairy tale. Having entered the playoffs, they surprisingly celebrated the first Stanley Cup win in franchise history. In this year’s playoffs, things didn’t go so well, after an uninspired performance, the title defense failed at the first opportunity at the Vancouver Canucks.
A year ago, the blues was still at the top. Bild: AP / AP
As it turned out, with Lightining’s triumph in the Stanley Cup, the blues also became the super-loser of these NHL playoffs. Because they lost to the Canucks, who then lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, who then lost to the Dallas Stars, who then lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. “From the first to the worst”, so to speak.
The NHL playoff tree. image: nhl
0 cases of corona in 64 days
The most unusual NHL playoffs in history lasted nearly ten weeks. Due to the corona pandemic, players had to spend all their time isolated in the so-called “bubble”. The isolation lasted a total of 64 days and in the end something happened that no one thought was possible.
Unlike tennis or the other American sports leagues such as the NBA, the NFL or the MLB, there was not a single case of positive corona. Even as the number of cases in the US and Canada continually increased, the NHL was always able to report a “zero” – the “bubble” remained. However, it only serves as a model for the upcoming season up to a point. Because the players have already made it clear that they don’t want to spend an entire season in quarantine. Playoffs yes, regular season no, is the tenor.
Therefore, it is not yet clear how and when the new NHL season will begin. At the moment, December 1 is the planned start date, but none of the NHL officials are in a rush at the moment. Better look first at the NFL and MLB that are already up and running and how these leagues are trying to deal with Corona.
Not a single crown case in 64 days: the NHL bubble was tight. Image: keystone
