Stamkos Lifts Tampa Bay To Third Straight Cup Final
The Lightning won four straight games over the Rangers and will try to defend their Stanley Cup crown against the Avalanche.
Back-to-back championship titles are rare in any sport. Second title runs are often derailed by injuries, egos, and contract demands.
In the N.H.L., winning three Stanley Cups in a row hasn’t been done for nearly 40 years
The Tampa Bay Lightning are one step away from what’s even harder: winning three straight Cups.
Lightning defeated Rangers 2-1 in Eastern Conference Finals and will face Avalanche in Stanley Cup Finals starting Wednesday in Denver.
The game-winning goal came late in the third period, with Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos scoring both goals.
Overcoming a two-game deficit and winning the last four games of the series outscoring the Rangers 12-5, the Lightning won the series convincingly.
Despite the Rangers’ number one power play, the Lightning committed few errors to keep them from scoring.
Despite being in the playoffs for the first time in five seasons, the Rangers were unable to score at even strength in the last four games.
As his teammates celebrated around him after the game, Stamkos said, “We know we didn’t play our best the first two.”. “They executed well, we didn’t.”
But, he said, “these guys aren’t panicking.”. Winning a championship is difficult. Our team knows what it takes.
In his eight straight clinching games, he also posted six shutouts.
As of now, Tampa has won 11 consecutive playoff series.
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