Not many franchise’s can say they’ve won back-to-back titles. The Tampa Bay Lightning can now claim that with their second consecutive championship season.

Dating back to the last game of the Stanley Cup Final last season, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy hasn’t allowed a goal in a series clinching game. He had a shutout in the series clinching games against Florida, Carolina, NY Islanders and Montreal in this years playoff run.

That’s a large reason why he was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy. He wasn’t the only consistent performer for this talented bunch.

Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point were spectacular once again and Victor Hedman led the way for the defense. Steven Stamkos was healthy for the entire playoffs and contributed at big moments, including on the power play.

The salary cap ultimately will make this unsustainable sooner rather than later. In the times of lockdown madness there is too much uncertainty with the league’s finances. That shouldn’t diminish what was accomplished here.

This team was built to win and they’ve done it at the highest level in consecutive years.

Congratulations to the 2021 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.