Since the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in the mid-1990s, the newly-renamed Colorado Avalanche won two NHL Stanley Cup titles in their first five seasons (1996, 2001). Sunday in Tampa, Florida, they claimed the Cup for the third time in defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 to win their series in six games. Arrturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winning goals for the Avs in the final game. Cole Makar received the Conn Smythe trophy for playoff MVP.
The Avalanche had the most dominant team in hockey this past season, roaring through the regular season and into the playoffs with the efforts of Lehkonen, MacKinnon and Makar, not to mention the contributions of such players as Gabriel Landeskog and goaltender Darcy Kuemper. They defeated the Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs to get here.
The Lightning, who were already the two-time Cup champions, tried to become the first team from the Salary Cap Era (dating from 2005, when a labor lockout put the kibosh on an entire NHL season) to win three in a row--something that hasn't been done since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s. Unlike the Avs, the Lightning struggled through the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers (OK, they were swept) and New York Rangers to get to the final round.
In the Pandemic Era, the Lightning had to claim their championships inside a bubble in October at Edmonton (2020), and after a shortened but rapidly-paced schedule ending in the month of July (2021). This season was extended to allow for NHL players to compete in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which they never did because of COVID postponements and misgivings about China's handling of the virus. Tampa Bay lost the Cup a few days into summer.
Now it's the Colorado Avalanche's turn to hoist the Stanley Cup, then show it off to family and friends from around the world before starting the next season defending it. They'll be the favorites to do so, but it won't come easy. Just ask the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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