Lightning Cup one to remember
Pandemic victory was well-earned and doesn't require an asterisk, players say
Ask Victor Hedman what he will remember from this year's playoffs and his mind races in all different directions.
Where to begin?
There was the fairy tale moment in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final when Steven Stamkos scored on his first shift after briefly returning from a painful injury; and the giant exhale Brayden Point provided when he ended a five-overtime marathon battle against Columbus to kick off the playoffs. There was the monotony of living for more than two months inside a bubble, the oddity of playing inside an empty arena, and the nasal swabs and temperature checks that became part of the daily routine.
And of course, there was the obvious.
“You mean, apart from lifting the Cup?” asked the Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman. “Obviously, that was the most special moment. That was a huge relief for us.”
It was just as much a relief for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman as it was for Hedman. After eight weeks of crossing their fingers and hoping for the best, the NHL pulled off the seemingly impossible last September when it awarded the Stanley Cup to the Lightning. Somehow, they did it without a single positive case for COVID-19.
The last part should not be overlooked.
When the coronavirus pandemic forced the league into scrapping the rest of the regular season on March 13, there was no telling whether the Stanley Cup tournament would also be scrapped. Five months later, the playoffs finally began. But they weren't like any we've seen before.
A total of 24 teams qualified for the post-season, which was played in the middle of the summer, in near-empty buildings devoid of fans. Teams were split into two bubbles — in Toronto and Edmonton — and players were not allowed to leave until they were eliminated.
It all worked out.
Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and a few others left early to be with their families, but the bubble never burst. No one got sick. No one got caught sneaking out or sneaking anyone in. And while the TV ratings might have said otherwise — it turns out watching Dancing with the Stars is a bigger draw than the Stanley Cup Final — the hockey was entertaining, even if it lacked the atmosphere that only a sold-out building can bring.
In some ways, that added to the charm.
“It was obviously very different,” Hedman said in a phone interview with Postmedia News. “We've never been a part of this and hopefully, we're never going to play another playoffs without fans. For us, going all the way, we were obviously very grateful to get that opportunity to play and win the Cup.
“It was a very special 65 days for us. As a team, that's all you had — each other. That was your family. They say a team is a second family. But you spend 65 days together in a bubble and it's even more than that.”
This still may go down as the COVID Cup. But nobody will be putting an asterisk next to the Lightning name in the record books. Unlike Chicago and Montreal, who really had no business qualifying for the playoffs based on their regular season record, Tampa Bay was a deserving winner.
To reach the final, they had to first get revenge against Columbus, the team that swept them in the first round a year earlier. The series, which was anything but easy, was bookended with dramatic overtime goals scored by Point.
“Going through Columbus again, the team that we got swept by the year before, and coming out on top was huge for us,” said Hedman. “Unbelievable shots by Pointer. We kind of never looked back after that. We weren't going to take no for an answer.”
After beating the Bruins and the New York Islanders, the Lightning faced the Dallas Stars in the final. With the series tied 1-1 and the players starting to fatigue from two months of non-stop hockey, Tampa Bay received an unlikely boost in Game 3 from its injured captain when Stamkos willed himself onto the ice and scored a goal on his first shift.
Hedman called it “the highlight of the playoffs.”
“To play just over a few minutes in the whole playoffs and score a highlight reel goal like that was something special,” said Hedman. “Everyone knows Stammer is a special player and for him to do that was amazing. That's a moment that's going to live on forever. That's probably the best hockey play I've ever seen in the playoffs.”
Hedman, who was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP, also put on a show. He led defencemen with 10 goals and ranked fifth overall with 22 points, including seven points in six games against the Stars.
It is a moment he will never forget.
“We'll always have that Cup forever,” said Hedman.
“There's not going to be an asterisk. It was still the playoffs. It was still just as tough to win. It was obviously very different. One of the pros was that there was no travel. But it was 24 teams that had a chance.”