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2020 Stanley Cup Finals

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2020 Stanley Cup Finals
123456 Total
Dallas Stars 4224*3**0 2
Tampa Bay Lightning 1355*2**2 4
* – Denotes overtime period(s)
Location(s)Edmonton: Rogers Place
CoachesDallas: Rick Bowness (interim)
Tampa Bay: Jon Cooper
CaptainsDallas: Jamie Benn
Tampa Bay: Steven Stamkos
RefereesFrancis Charron (1, 4)
Steve Kozari (2, 5)
Wes McCauley (1, 3, 6)
Dan O'Rourke (3, 5)
Kelly Sutherland (2, 4, 6)
DatesSeptember 19–28, 2020
MVPVictor Hedman (Lightning)
Series-winning goalBrayden Point (12:23, First, G6)
NetworksCanada:
(English): CBC/Sportsnet
(French): TVA Sports
United States:
(English): NBC (1, 4–6), NBCSN (2–3)
Announcers(CBC/SN) Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson
(TVA) Felix Seguin and Patrick Lalime
(NBC/NBCSN) Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Brian Boucher
← 2019 Stanley Cup Finals 2021 →

The 2020 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2019–20 season and the culmination of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. This series was between the Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the Western Conference champion Dallas Stars. The Lightning won the best-of-seven series, four games to two, for their second championship in franchise history. The Lightning had home-ice advantage in the series with the better regular season record. The series began on September 19 and concluded on September 28. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire series was played behind closed doors at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The pandemic resulted in the league suspending the regular season on March 12, 2020, and then scheduling a special 24-team playoff format to be held in two neutral "hub cities" (Edmonton and Toronto) that began on August 1.[1] Thus it became the first Stanley Cup Finals to be played in the month of September.

This was the first Stanley Cup Finals since 1925 to be played entirely outside the Eastern Time Zone, the first since 1928 to be played entirely in one location, the first since 1989 to be played entirely in Canada, and the first since 2011 to have the Stanley Cup awarded in a Canadian arena. This was the first Stanley Cup Finals since 1950 to feature a neutral site game and the first Stanley Cup Finals to feature two teams from the American Sun Belt (Texas and Florida).

The Dallas Stars set the record for most playoff games played by a team in a single postseason at 27 games.

Paths to the Finals

[edit]

Return to play

[edit]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire series was held at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic, and later that day, the National Basketball Association suspended all games after players tested positive for the virus. One day later, the NHL announced that the 2019–20 season had been paused indefinitely.[2] On May 22, the league and the NHLPA agreed on a basic framework to stage a 24-team playoff tournament behind closed doors, conducted in two neutral "hub" cities to help protect teams from the virus. The details of the plan were announced publicly on May 26. The seeds would be based on each club's points percentage when the season paused on March 12, effectively scrapping the remainder of the regular season. In the opening round of the 24-team playoff format, the top four teams in each conference played each other in a separate seeding round-robin to determine the seeding in the first round. The eight lower seeded teams in each conference played in the qualifying round, a best-of-five series to advance to the next round. The first round through to the finals remained as best-of-seven series.[3] On July 10, along with the ratification of an extension to the collective bargaining agreement, the NHL and the NHLPA formally agreed to begin the playoffs on August 1 (concluding no later than early October), with games being hosted by Edmonton (Western Conference early rounds, conference finals, and Stanley Cup Finals) and Toronto (Eastern Conference early rounds).[4][5] U.S. cities were also considered, but were passed over after several U.S. states experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases in late June.[6][7]

Dallas Stars

[edit]

This was the franchise's fifth appearance in the finals. They won the Stanley Cup in 1999 before losing the finals in 2000. They also made two appearances as the Minnesota North Stars in 1981 and 1991.

During the offseason, Dallas signed forwards Corey Perry and Joe Pavelski as well as defenceman Andrej Sekera in free agency.[8][9][10] The team also re-signed defenceman Taylor Fedun and forward Jason Dickinson.[11][12] The team made no trades during the regular season.

On December 10, 2019, head coach Jim Montgomery was dismissed due to "unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs" of both the team and the league, and was replaced by Rick Bowness.[13] Before joining the Stars organization, Bowness had served as associate coach with the Lightning from 2013 to 2018.[14]

When the regular season was suspended on March 12, 2020, the Stars had a 37–24–8 record and a .594 points percentage to finish third in the Central Division and fourth in the Western Conference. After play resumed in the hubs, Dallas placed third in the round robin.[15] The Stars then defeated the Calgary Flames in six games in the first round,[16] the Colorado Avalanche in seven games in the second round,[17] and the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the Western Conference finals.[18]

Tampa Bay Lightning

[edit]

This was the Tampa Bay Lightning's third appearance in the finals. They won the Stanley Cup in 2004 before losing the finals in 2015.

During the offseason, Backup goaltender Louis Domingue was dealt to the New Jersey Devils for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2021. Defenseman Anton Stralman left the team in free agency after five seasons and signed a three-year contract with the inne-state rival Florida Panthers. Right winger Ryan Callahan's career was effectively ended when he was diagnosed with a degenerative back disease.[19] Defenseman Dan Girardi went unsigned over the summer and eventually announced his retirement from playing hockey effective immediately after his two-year contract he signed in 2017.[20] To make up for these losses, Tampa Bay signed goaltender Curtis McElhinney, defencemen Luke Schenn, Luke Witkowski, and Kevin Shattenkirk, and forward Patrick Maroon during free agency.[21][22][23][24][25] Tampa Bay also re-signed goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and forwards Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point.[26][27][28] During the regular season, the Lightning traded for forwards Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow.[29][30] They also signed Zach Bogosian whose contract had been terminated by the Buffalo Sabres during the season.[31] During Phase 2 of the Return to Play plan, captain Steven Stamkos injured himself while skating, and subsequently missed the round robin and the first three rounds of the playoffs for the Lightning.[32]

When the regular season was suspended on March 12, the Lightning had a 42–21–6 record and a .657 points percentage to finish second in both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. After play resumed in the hubs, Tampa Bay placed second in the round robin.[33] The Lightning then defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round, including winning game one of the series that became the fourth longest game in NHL history, and the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in the second round in five games respectively.[34][35] The Lightning then eliminated the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference finals in six games.[36]

Game summaries

[edit]
Note: The numbers in parentheses represent each player's total goals or assists to that point of the entire playoffs.

Game one

[edit]
September 19 Dallas Stars 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning Rogers Place Recap
Anton Khudobin, shown with Providence, stopped 35 of 36 shots in game one.

In the first period of game one, neither team produced many shots, yet each scored a goal. The first goal came from Stars defenceman Joel Hanley who took an open pass from Roope Hintz. Tampa Bay equalized the score on left winger Yanni Gourde's skate deflection. In the second period, both teams produced more shots, however, Dallas was up by two at the end of the period. Jamie Oleksiak fired a wrist shot which rebounded back to him which he then shot it over Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 2–1. The Stars' third goal started in their own end with Esa Lindell passing to Joel Kiviranta. Kiviranta then skated through centre, firing a shot that was blocked, but picked up the rebound to put it past Vasilevskiy for a 3–1 lead. In the third period, the Stars played more defensively, putting up only two shots compared to the Lightning who fired twenty-two shots at Anton Khudobin. The Stars held their ground for the remaining 20 minutes, and Jason Dickinson's empty-net goal sealed a 4–1 victory for Dallas.[37]

Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st DAL Joel Hanley (1) Roope Hintz (10) 05:40 1–0 DAL
TBL Yanni Gourde (6) Blake Coleman (7), Barclay Goodrow (5) 12:32 1–1
2nd DAL Jamie Oleksiak (5) Alexander Radulov (7), Miro Heiskanen (18) 12:30 2–1 DAL
DAL Joel Kiviranta (5) Esa Lindell (6), John Klingberg (14) 19:32 3–1 DAL
3rd DAL Jason Dickinson (1) – en Blake Comeau (5), Mattias Janmark (6) 18:42 4–1 DAL
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st TBL Patrick Maroon Roughing 08:08 2:00
DAL Jamie Oleksiak Roughing 08:08 2:00
2nd TBL Blake Coleman Slashing 01:09 2:00
TBL Blake Coleman Hooking 06:54 2:00
TBL Patrick Maroon Misconduct 20:00 10:00
3rd DAL John Klingberg Hooking 04:52 2:00
DAL Blake Comeau Delay of game (puck over glass) 09:08 2:00
DAL Tyler Seguin Tripping 12:56 2:00
Shots by period
Team 1 2 3 Total
DAL 5 13 2 20
TBL 4 10 22 36

Game two

[edit]
September 21 Dallas Stars 2–3 Tampa Bay Lightning Rogers Place Recap
Victor Hedman recorded two assists on the power-play in Game 2.

In game two, the Lightning struck three times in the first period. Twice on the power-play, Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov set up both goal-scorers. The first came from a tic-tac-toe pass to Brayden Point firing it past Stars goalie Anton Khudobin. The second goal was another set-up pass; this time Kucherov fed it through the middle where Ondrej Palat made it 2–0. The Lightning made it 3–0 when the Stars fumbled the puck in their own zone and Anthony Cirelli gave it to Kevin Shattenkirk, whose shot at the blue line deflected off of Esa Lindell and past Khudobin. In the second period, the Stars shot eighteen times at Andrei Vasilevskiy and caught a break on the power-play. During Palat's slashing penalty, John Klingberg's shot deflected off of fellow Stars forward Joe Pavelski to cut the score to 3–1. Later in the period, a hit on Stars player Blake Comeau caused a skirmish to erupt, with Dallas players Corey Perry and Klingberg against Cedric Paquette and Hedman respectively. All players received simultaneous roughing penalties. In the third period, the Stars made it 3–2 when Mattias Janmark's shot snuck past Vasilevskiy. The Lightning kept their offense going in the final 20 minutes, pouring twelve shots on Khudobin, holding off the Stars, and ending the game 3–2 to tie the series 1–1.[38]

Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st TBL Brayden Point (10) – pp Nikita Kucherov (21), Victor Hedman (7) 11:23 1–0 TBL
TBL Ondrej Palat (9) – pp Nikita Kucherov (22), Victor Hedman (8) 14:22 2–0 TBL
TBL Kevin Shattenkirk (2) Blake Coleman (8), Anthony Cirelli (4) 15:16 3–0 TBL
2nd DAL Joe Pavelski (10) – pp John Klingberg (15), Alexander Radulov (8) 14:43 3–1 TBL
3rd DAL Mattias Janmark (1) John Klingberg (16), Alexander Radulov (9) 05:27 3–2 TBL
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st DAL Mattias Janmark High-sticking 03:20 2:00
DAL Joe Pavelski Tripping 10:58 2:00
DAL Jamie Oleksiak Holding 13:11 2:00
TBL Ondrej Palat Interference 18:59 2:00
2nd DAL Blake Comeau Interference 02:02 2:00
TBL Nikita Kucherov Tripping 03:47 2:00
TBL Yanni Gourde Cross checking 06:26 2:00
TBL Ondrej Palat Slashing 14:38 2:00
DAL Corey Perry Roughing 16:58 2:00
TBL Patrick Maroon Goaltender interference 16:58 2:00
TBL Victor Hedman Roughing 16:58 2:00
TBL Cedric Paquette Roughing 16:58 2:00
DAL John Klingberg Roughing 16:58 2:00
3rd None
Shots by period
Team 1 2 3 Total
DAL 6 18 5 29
TBL 14 5 12 31

Game three

[edit]
September 23 Tampa Bay Lightning 5–2 Dallas Stars Rogers Place Recap
Steven Stamkos, who returned to the Lightning lineup in Game 3, scored his first goal of the playoffs.

In game three, Dallas put the heat on Andrei Vasilevskiy in the first period. However, among their sixteen shots, only one goal was successfully scored compared to the Lightning's two. Tampa Bay's first came from a misplay by Miro Heiskanen giving Nikita Kucherov a breakaway, sniping the puck past Anton Khudobin. Their second goal came from their captain Steven Stamkos returning from injury for his first game since being injured on February 25. After a rush by the Stars was stopped in the offensive zone, Victor Hedman passed the puck to Stamkos, who was racing on the right side, upon which he fired his shot over Khudobin's blocker to make it 2–0. The Stars' lone goal of the period came short-handed when a shot by Roope Hintz was stopped by Vasilevskiy. The rebound of that save went back to Hintz in the left corner who then passed to an open Jason Dickinson, whose shot got through Vasilevskiy to make it 2–1. The Lightning had a more dominant approach in the second period, putting off 21 shots and scoring three times. The first goal came following Alexander Radulov's hooking penalty which carried over from the first period. After a puck battle behind the net, Anthony Cirelli, who was falling down on the play, passed to Hedman who shot the puck under Khudobin's stick into the net. Tampa Bay's fourth goal arrived when the Stars began a line change and a 3-on-1 developed with Kucherov leading the rush and Brayden Point scoring the goal. The Lightning continued their offensive zone coverage towards the end of the period and in the final minute-and-a-half, Point fired a shot that rebounded to Ondrej Palat, who put it into the net for a 5–1 lead. Dallas then pulled Khudobin before the third period, replacing him with rookie Jake Oettinger. The Stars, showing some frustration, began roughing the Lightning on three occasions: the first with Mattias Janmark and Palat; then both Jamie Benn and Jan Rutta, who had a skirmish after the play, both earning misconducts as a result; and an errant cross-check at 18:05 by Joe Pavelski on Cedric Paquette, which caused a ruckus with both teams. Heiskanen's goal gave the Stars some life in the third period, but Tampa Bay's defense kept the Stars at bay, winning the game 5–2 and taking a 2–1 series lead.[39]

Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st TBL Nikita Kucherov (7) Unassisted 05:33 1–0 TBL
TBL Steven Stamkos (1) Victor Hedman (9), Jan Rutta (1) 06:58 2–0 TBL
DAL Jason Dickinson (2) – sh Roope Hintz (11) 11:19 2–1 TBL
2nd TBL Victor Hedman (10) – pp Anthony Cirelli (5), Ondrej Palat (6) 00:54 3–1 TBL
TBL Brayden Point (11) Nikita Kucherov (23), Victor Hedman (10) 12:02 4–1 TBL
TBL Ondrej Palat (10) Brayden Point (17), Kevin Shattenkirk (9) 18:55 5–1 TBL
3rd DAL Miro Heiskanen (6) Joe Pavelski (6), Andrew Cogliano (2) 06:49 5–2 TBL
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st TBL Erik Cernak Tripping 08:13 2:00
DAL Joel Kiviranta Interference 09:34 2:00
DAL Alexander Radulov Hooking 19:37 2:00
2nd DAL Alexander Radulov Hooking 04:31 2:00
TBL Yanni Gourde Interference 12:43 2:00
3rd TBL Ondrej Palat Roughing 02:58 2:00
DAL Mattias Janmark Roughing 02:58 2:00
DAL Jamie Benn Roughing 03:38 2:00
TBL Jan Rutta Roughing 03:38 2:00
DAL Jamie Benn Misconduct 03:38 10:00
TBL Jan Rutta Misconduct 03:38 10:00
TBL Kevin Shattenkirk Slashing 09:30 2:00
TBL Mikhail Sergachev Tripping 12:41 2:00
DAL Joe Pavelski Roughing 18:05 2:00
DAL Joe Pavelski Cross checking 18:05 2:00
TBL Cedric Paquette Roughing 18:05 2:00
TBL Barclay Goodrow Roughing 18:05 2:00
TBL Patrick Maroon Misconduct 18:05 10:00
DAL Jason Dickinson Roughing 18:05 2:00
Shots by period
Team 1 2 3 Total
TBL 8 21 3 32
DAL 16 4 4 24

Game four

[edit]
September 25 Tampa Bay Lightning 5–4 OT Dallas Stars Rogers Place Recap
Kevin Shattenkirk, shown with St. Louis, scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 4.

The Tampa Bay Lightning overcame a 2–0 deficit in game four. In the first period, John Klingberg gave the Stars their first goal of the game subsequently on their first shot. The Stars gained a 2–0 lead when Jamie Benn set up Joe Pavelski, whose wrist shot got under Andrei Vasilevskiy. Tampa Bay got on the board with 33 seconds remaining in the period. The play began when defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk, from behind the Lightning net, gave an outstretched pass to Ondrej Palat, who then passed across to the right boards to find a solitary Brayden Point. He maneuvered around Anton Khudobin, going to his backhand to score. Point then tied the game early in the second period, on the power-play. During the Stars' penalty, Alex Killorn made a pass to the front, but the puck deflected off of Andrej Sekera's skate into the air, which Point then batted it into the net. The Stars soon regained the lead when Tyler Seguin's pass around Vasilevskiy got picked up by Corey Perry who, although tied up by Cedric Paquette, allowed the puck to trickle in off his stick. The Lightning tied the game up again when Andrew Cogliano got caught for hooking and on the ensuing Tampa Bay power-play, Mikhail Sergachev set up Nikita Kucherov for a one-timer, but the puck deflected off of Esa Lindell to Yanni Gourde who shot it past Khudobin. In the third period, Killorn put the Lightning up 4–3 when he went out around the net and shot at the top corner behind Khudobin. Pavelski tied the game 4–4 after picking up the rebound of Seguin's shot and then launching the puck at Vasilevskiy which deflected off of Shattenkirk into the net. Into overtime, Benn pushed down Tyler Johnson; controversially, he was called for tripping. While on the ensuing power-play, Patrick Maroon won an offensive zone face-off, sending it back to Victor Hedman. Hedman then passed it to Shattenkirk, whose shot at a sharp angle went over Khudobin's right pad for the game-winning goal and a 3–1 series lead.[40]

Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st DAL John Klingberg (4) Esa Lindell (7) 07:17 1–0 DAL
DAL Joe Pavelski (11) Jamie Benn (11), Alexander Radulov (10) 18:28 2–0 DAL
TBL Brayden Point (12) Ondrej Palat (7), Kevin Shattenkirk (10) 19:27 2–1 DAL
2nd TBL Brayden Point (13) – pp Alex Killorn (5), Nikita Kucherov (24) 02:08 2–2
DAL Corey Perry (3) Tyler Seguin (7), Mattias Janmark (7) 08:26 3–2 DAL
TBL Yanni Gourde (7) – pp Nikita Kucherov (25), Mikhail Sergachev (6) 18:54 3–3
3rd TBL Alex Killorn (5) Mikhail Sergachev (7), Anthony Cirelli (6) 06:41 4–3 TBL
DAL Joe Pavelski (12) Tyler Seguin (8), Miro Heiskanen (19) 11:35 4–4
OT TBL Kevin Shattenkirk (3) – pp Victor Hedman (11), Patrick Maroon (4) 06:34 5–4 TBL
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st DAL Jamie Oleksiak Hooking 13:52 2:00
2nd DAL Jamie Oleksiak Tripping 01:38 2:00
TBL Erik Cernak Holding 11:10 2:00
DAL Andrew Cogliano Hooking 17:34 2:00
3rd TBL Patrick Maroon Holding 09:16 2:00
DAL Corey Perry Interference 19:31 2:00
TBL Brayden Point Embellishment 19:31 2:00
OT TBL Mikhail Sergachev Holding 00:37 2:00
DAL Jamie Benn Tripping 05:10 2:00
Shots by period
Team 1 2 3 OT Total
TBL 8 15 8 4 35
DAL 3 14 11 2 30

Game five

[edit]
September 26 Dallas Stars 3–2 2OT Tampa Bay Lightning Rogers Place Recap
Corey Perry, shown with Anaheim, scored twice, including the game-winning goal in double overtime of Game 5.

Corey Perry opened the scoring in the first period of game five. Jamie Oleksiak passed to Tyler Seguin, who then dropped it for Perry to score the initial goal for Dallas. In the second period, the Lightning struck back when Nikita Kucherov passed to Ondrej Palat and he skated past the Dallas defencemen and goaltender Anton Khudobin with a backhand to tie the game 1–1. The Lightning kept putting the pressure on the Stars for the remainder of the second period, firing away 13 shots. In the third period, Mikhail Sergachev's blast from the point gave the Lightning a 2–1 lead. The Stars tied the game 2–2 when Miro Heiskanen's shot from the point rebounded to Joe Pavelski, who put it past Andrei Vasilevskiy to break the record held by Joe Mullen for most career playoff goals scored by a US-born player. The two teams remained tied after the fact heading into overtime. In the first overtime, Dallas put up two shots compared to Tampa Bay's seven, but no goals were scored and the game continued on to double overtime. At 9:23 of the second overtime, Perry picked up a rebound from Seguin's shot and slid the puck past Vasilevskiy to give the Stars the game 3–2, forcing a sixth game.[41]

Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st DAL Corey Perry (4) Tyler Seguin (9), Jamie Oleksiak (4) 17:52 1–0 DAL
2nd TBL Ondrej Palat (11) Nikita Kucherov (26), Brayden Point (18) 04:37 1–1
3rd TBL Mikhail Sergachev (3) Brayden Point (19) 03:38 2–1 TBL
DAL Joe Pavelski (13) Miro Heiskanen (20), Tyler Seguin (10) 13:15 2–2
OT None
2OT DAL Corey Perry (5) John Klingberg (17), Tyler Seguin (11) 09:23 3–2 DAL
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st DAL Tyler Seguin High-sticking 04:19 2:00
2nd TBL Carter Verhaeghe Slashing 12:33 2:00
3rd TBL Erik Cernak High-sticking 11:06 2:00
OT None
2OT None
Shots by period
Team 1 2 3 OT 2OT Total
DAL 8 6 13 2 4 33
TBL 10 13 7 7 4 41

Game six

[edit]
September 28 Tampa Bay Lightning 2–0 Dallas Stars Rogers Place Recap
Andrei Vasilevskiy earned his first career playoff shutout to clinch the Stanley Cup for the Lightning in Game 6.

In game six, the Lightning took a 1–0 lead in the first period. After John Klingberg was penalized for tripping, Brayden Point fired a wrist shot that flew past Anton Khudobin after following the rebound of his own initial shot. Tampa Bay gained a 2–0 lead in the second period when a Stars turnover to Patrick Maroon got to Cedric Paquette, who set up Blake Coleman for a one-timer. The Stars remained scoreless for the rest of the game, but they had a close chance in the second period when Joel Kiviranta's shot was stopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy with his skate. Although had a goal been scored, it would have been disallowed as Corey Perry was penalized for goaltender interference on the play. The Lightning held Dallas to just eight shots in the first two periods combined. Vasilevskiy continued his shutout in the third period, stopping all 22 shots by Dallas, earning his first playoff shutout. With a 2–0 victory, the Tampa Bay Lightning won their second Stanley Cup. Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman was given the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.[42]

Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st TBL Brayden Point (14) – pp Nikita Kucherov (27), Victor Hedman (12) 12:23 1–0 TBL
2nd TBL Blake Coleman (5) Cedric Paquette (3), Patrick Maroon (5) 07:01 2–0 TBL
3rd None
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st DAL Andrew Cogliano Tripping 06:32 2:00
DAL John Klingberg Tripping 11:58 2:00
TBL Victor Hedman Interference 18:36 2:00
2nd TBL Ryan McDonagh Interference 08:02 2:00
DAL Corey Perry Goaltender interference 09:22 2:00
3rd TBL Ryan McDonagh Tripping 15:27 2:00
Shots by period
Team 1 2 3 Total
TBL 11 10 8 29
DAL 4 4 14 22

Team rosters

[edit]

Years indicated in boldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.[43]

Dallas Stars

[edit]
Jamie Benn captained the Stars to their fifth Stanley Cup Finals appearance in franchise history and first since 2000.
# Nat Player Position Hand Age Acquired Place of birth Finals appearance
14 Canada Jamie BennC LW L 31 2007 Victoria, British Columbia first
30 United States Ben Bishop G L 33 2017 Denver, Colorado second (2015)
17 Canada Nick Caamano RW L 22 2016 Ancaster, Ontario first
11 Canada Andrew Cogliano LW L 33 2019 Toronto, Ontario first
15 Canada Blake ComeauA W R 34 2018 Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan first
18 Canada Jason Dickinson C/LW L 25 2013 Georgetown, Ontario first
37 Canada Justin Dowling C L 29 2013 Calgary, Alberta first
12 Czech Republic Radek Faksa C L 26 2012 Vítkov, Czech Republic first
42 Canada Taylor Fedun D R 32 2018 Edmonton, Alberta first
34 Russia Denis Gurianov LW L 23 2015 Togliatti, Russia first
39 Canada Joel Hanley D L 29 2018 Keswick, Ontario first
4 Finland Miro Heiskanen D L 21 2017 Espoo, Finland first
24 Finland Roope Hintz C/LW L 23 2015 Tampere, Finland first
13 Sweden Mattias Janmark LW L 27 2015 Danderyd, Sweden first
28 United States Stephen Johns D R 28 2015 Ellwood City, Pennsylvania first
35 Russia Anton Khudobin G L 34 2018 Ust-Kamenogorsk, Soviet Union second (2013)
25 Finland Joel Kiviranta LW L 24 2019 Vantaa, Finland first
3 Sweden John KlingbergA D R 28 2010 Lerum, Sweden first
23 Finland Esa LindellA D L 26 2012 Helsinki, Finland first
29 United States Jake Oettinger G L 21 2017 Lakeville, Minnesota first
2 Canada Jamie Oleksiak D L 27 2019 Toronto, Ontario first
16 United States Joe Pavelski RW/C R 36 2019 Plover, Wisconsin second (2016)
10 Canada Corey Perry RW R 35 2019 New Liskeard, Ontario second (2007)
45 Czech Republic Roman Polák D R 34 2018 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia second (2016)
47 Russia Alexander Radulov RW L 34 2017 Nizhny Tagil, Soviet Union first
91 Canada Tyler SeguinA C R 28 2013 Brampton, Ontario third (2011, 2013)
5 Slovakia Andrej Sekera D L 34 2019 Bojnice, Czechoslovakia first

Tampa Bay Lightning

[edit]
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos did not play in the first three rounds of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs as a result of a lower-body injury sustained in July,[44] but the Lightning went on to their third Stanley Cup Finals appearance in franchise history and first since 2015 in his absence. He would play play his only game of the series and the run in game three of the Finals and scored the second goal of the game in that game.
# Nat Player Position Hand Age Acquired Place of birth Finals appearance
24 United States Zach Bogosian D R 30 2020 Massena, New York first
81 Slovakia Erik Cernak D R 23 2017 Košice, Slovakia first
71 Canada Anthony Cirelli C L 23 2015 Woodbridge, Ontario first
55 Canada Braydon Coburn D L 35 2015 Calgary, Alberta third (2010, 2015)
20 United States Blake Coleman C L 28 2020 Plano, Texas first
19 Canada Barclay Goodrow RW L 27 2020 Toronto, Ontario second (2016)
37 Canada Yanni Gourde LW L 28 2014 Saint-Narcisse, Quebec first
77 Sweden Victor HedmanA D L 29 2009 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden second (2015)
9 United States Tyler Johnson C R 30 2011 Spokane, Washington second (2015)
17 Canada Alex Killorn - A LW L 31 2007 Halifax, Nova Scotia second (2015)
86 Russia Nikita Kucherov RW L 27 2011 Maykop, Russia second (2015)
14 United States Patrick Maroon LW L 32 2019 St. Louis, Missouri second (2019)
27 United States Ryan McDonaghA D L 31 2018 Saint Paul, Minnesota second (2014)
35 Canada Curtis McElhinney G L 37 2019 London, Ontario first
18 Czech Republic Ondrej Palat LW L 29 2011 Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia second (2015)
13 Canada Cedric Paquette C L 27 2012 Gaspé, Quebec second (2015)
21 Canada Brayden Point C R 24 2014 Calgary, Alberta first
44 Czech Republic Jan Rutta D R 30 2019 Písek, Czechoslovakia first
2 Canada Luke Schenn D R 30 2019 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan first
98 Russia Mikhail Sergachev D L 22 2017 Nizhmekamsk, Russia first
22 United States Kevin Shattenkirk D R 31 2019 New Rochelle, New York first
91 Canada Steven StamkosC C R 30 2008 Markham, Ontario second (2015)
67 Canada Mitchell Stephens C R 23 2015 Peterborough, Ontario first
88 Russia Andrei Vasilevskiy G L 26 2012 Tyumen, Russia second (2015)
23 Canada Carter Verhaeghe LW L 25 2017 Waterdown, Ontario first
92 Russia Alexander Volkov LW L 23 2017 Moscow, Russia first

Stanley Cup engraving

[edit]

The Stanley Cup was presented to Lightning captain Steven Stamkos by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman following the Lightning's 2–0 win in game six.

The following Lightning players and staff qualified to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup: [45]

2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning

Players

  Goaltenders


^ - Also played Wing

Coaching and administrative staff

  • Jeffrey Vinik (Chairman/Owner/Governor), Steve Griggs (Chief Executive Officer/Alt. Governor), Julien BriseBois (Vice President/General Manager/Alt. Governor),
  • Allen Murray (Asst General Manager-Director of Amateur Scouting), Jamie Pushor (Asst. General Manager-Director of Player Personnel), Stacy Roest (Asst. General Manager-Director of Player Development), Mathieu Darche (Director of Hockey Operations),
  • Jon Cooper (Head Coach), Jeff Halpern (Asst. Coach), Derek Lalonde (Asst. Coach),
  • Todd Richards (Asst. Coach), Frantz Jean (Goaltending Coach), Brian Garlock (Video Coordinator),
  • Nigel Kirwan (Video Coach), Mark Lambert (Director of High Performance/Strength Coach), Tom Mulligan (Athletic Trainer),
  • Mike Poirier (Asst. Athletic Trainer), Ray Thill (Equipment Manager), Rob Kennedy (Asst. Equipment Manager),
  • Jason Berger (Asst. Equipment Manager), Christian Rivas (Massage Therapist) Brandon Rodgers (Physical Therapist, Asst. Strength & Conditioning Coach),
  • Ryan Belec (Sr. Director of Team Services), Liz Sylvia Kokoharsky (Director of Hockey Administration), Michael Peterson (Director of Hockey Analytics).

Engraving notes

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Tampa Bay had 28 players on their extended official team roster during the 2020 playoffs. Of those, 27 automatically qualified to have their names engraved.

  • #44 Jan Rutta (D) played 33 regular-season and five playoff games (four in the finals). He missed 19 regular-season and 18 playoff games injured. He qualified by playing four games in the final.
  • #55 Braydon Coburn (D) played 40 regular-season and three playoff games (none in the finals). He qualified by playing in half of his team's regular season games.
  • #2 Luke Schenn (D) played 25 regular-season and 11 playoff games (including one in the finals). He qualified by playing one game in the finals.
  • #24 Zach Bogosian (D) played 27 regular-season games (18 games for Buffalo, nine games for Tampa Bay), plus 20 playoff games for Tampa Bay. Bogosian also missed 22 regular-season and four playoff games injured. He qualified by playing two games in the finals.
  • #92 Alexander Volkov (RW) - played nine regular-season games and one game in the finals. He also played 46 games in the minors with Syracuse. He qualified by playing in one game in the finals.
  • #7 Mathieu Joseph (RW) – 37 regular-season games and 29 games in the minors for Syracuse. He qualified by playing in half of his team's regular season games.
  • #29 Scott Wedgewood (G) – did not play for Tampa Bay during the 2019–20 season, but played 20 games in minors for Syracuse (AHL). Wedgewood was an extra goalie who was carried for the playoffs in case of injuries but did not dress for any games. He was the only player on the roster who traveled with the team to the NHL Bubble not to have his name engraved on the Cup.
  • #14 Patrick Maroon (LW) became the third player in the expansion era to win back-to-back Stanley Cups with two different teams. Maroon won with St. Louis in 2019 and Tampa Bay in 2020. The only two other players who have won back to back cups with two different teams since 1967–68 are Claude Lemieux, who won in 1995 with New Jersey and in 1996 with Colorado; and Cory Stillman, who won in 2004 with Tampa Bay and in 2006 with Carolina (the 2004–05 season was not played due to the lockout). Additionally, Maroon's first name was listed simply as “Pat” on the 2020 engraving, after being listed as “Patrick” the prior year.
  • Four members of the team staff won both cups with Tampa Bay in 2004 and 2020, 16 years apart: Video Coach Nigel Kirwin, Athletic Trainer Tom Mulligan, Equipment Manager Ray Thill, and Senior Director of Team Services Ryan Belec.

Television and radio

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In Canada, the series was broadcast by Sportsnet and CBC Television in English, and TVA Sports in French. In the United States, the finals were split between NBC (Games one, and four through six) and NBCSN (Games two and three). The NHL initially had plans to produce broadcasts for each game using a skeleton crew on-site, such as cameramen and producers, and then each media partners' commentators on both TV and radio were to call the games remotely.[46] The league then allowed both Sportsnet and NBC commentators into the hubs.[47]

As he had been doing throughout the playoffs, 74-year-old NBC lead play-by-play commentator Mike "Doc" Emrick called the Cup Finals off of monitors from his home studio in Metro Detroit, citing his advanced age as a potential risk for severe illness from COVID-19.[48] These were the final games that Emrick called; he announced his retirement on October 19, 2020.[49]

This also ended up the last Cup Finals called by 63-year-old CBC/Sportsnet lead play-by-play commentator Jim Hughson. As the COVID-19 pandemic continued into the 2020–21 season, Hughson reduced his schedule to only work national Vancouver Canucks home games.[50] He would later announce his retirement in September 2021.[51]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Johnston, Chris (July 10, 2020). "NHL announces tentative dates for return to play, compressed off-season". Sportsnet. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "NHL pauses regular season because of coronavirus". NHL.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  3. ^ "NHLPA authorizes further negotiations on 24-team return to play format". Sportsnet. May 22, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "NHL is back in business with ratification of CBA, return-to-play plan". Sportsnet. Rogers Sports & Media. July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  5. ^ "NHL, NHLPA ratify CBA extension through 2025-26 season". NHL.com. July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Kaplan, Emily (July 1, 2020). "NHL eyeing Toronto, Edmonton as hub cities for season restart". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "How did Toronto and Edmonton beat out Las Vegas as NHL hub cities? It's all about the odds". Toronto Star. July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  8. ^ "Stars sign winger Corey Perry to one-year contract". Sportsnet. July 1, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "Stars sign veteran forward Joe Pavelski to three-year deal". Sportsnet. July 1, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  10. ^ Mair, Tyler (July 1, 2019). "Dallas Signs Andrej Sekera To One-Year, $1.5 Million Contract". Defending Big D. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "Stars sign defenseman Taylor Fedun to 2-year, 2-way contract". Dallas Star. June 27, 2019.
  12. ^ "Stars sign center Jason Dickinson to 2-year contract". Dallas Star. July 11, 2019.
  13. ^ "Jim Montgomery dismissed as head coach of Stars". NHL.com. December 10, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  14. ^ Mooney, Roger (May 31, 2018). "Lightning part ways with assistant coaches Rick Bowness, Brad Lauer". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  15. ^ Sadowski, Rick (August 9, 2020). "Stars defeat Blues in round-robin, secure No. 3 seed in West". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Vickers, Aaron (August 20, 2020). "Stars use big rally to eliminate Flames in Game 6 of Western First Round". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  17. ^ Satriano, David (September 4, 2020). "Stars top Avalanche in Game 7, advance to Western Conference Final". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  18. ^ Satriano, David (September 14, 2020). "Stars defeat Golden Knights in OT in Game 5, reach Stanley Cup Final". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  19. ^ "Former Rangers captain Ryan Callahan diagnosed with degenerative back disease". CBS Sports. June 20, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  20. ^ "Former Lightning, Rangers d-man Dan Girardi retires as NHL's blocked shots leader". CBC News. September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  21. ^ "Lightning sign goaltender Curtis McElhinney to two-year contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 1, 2019.
  22. ^ "Lightning sign defenseman Luke Schenn". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 1, 2019.
  23. ^ "Lightning sign defenseman Luke Witkowski to two-year contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 1, 2019.
  24. ^ "Lightning sign defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to one-year contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. August 5, 2019.
  25. ^ "Lightning sign free agent forward Pat Maroon for one year". Tampa Bay Lightning. August 24, 2019.
  26. ^ "Lightning sign goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to 8-year extension". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 29, 2019.
  27. ^ "Lightning re-sign forward Cedric Paquette to two-year contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 5, 2019.
  28. ^ "Lightning re-sign forward Brayden Point to three-year contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. September 23, 2019.
  29. ^ "Lightning acquire Blake Coleman from Devils for Nolan Foote, first-round pick". Sportsnet. Rogers Media. February 16, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  30. ^ "Lightning acquire Goodrow from Sharks". TSN. February 24, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  31. ^ "Lightning sign free agent defenseman Zach Bogosian". Tampa Bay Lightning. February 23, 2020.
  32. ^ Benjamin, Amalie (July 13, 2020). "Stamkos injured in Phase 2, expected to play for Lightning in Qualifiers". nhl.com.
  33. ^ Crosby, Wes (August 8, 2020). "Flyers defeat Lightning in round-robin, win Eastern Conference top seed". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  34. ^ Farrell, Sean (August 19, 2020). "Lightning top Blue Jackets in overtime in Game 5, win Eastern First Round". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  35. ^ Crosby, Wes (August 31, 2020). "Lightning eliminate Bruins in 2OT of Game 5, advance to Eastern Final". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  36. ^ Crosby, Wes (September 17, 2020). "Lightning defeat Islanders in OT in Game 6, advance to Cup Final". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  37. ^ Rosen, Dan (September 19, 2020). "Stars defeat Lightning in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  38. ^ Rosen, Dan (September 21, 2020). "Lightning hold off Stars in Game 2, even Stanley Cup Final". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  39. ^ Rosen, Dan (September 23, 2020). "Stamkos, Lightning defeat Stars in Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final, take lead". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  40. ^ Satriano, David (September 25, 2020). "Lightning defeat Stars in OT in Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final, extend lead". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  41. ^ Satriano, David (September 26, 2020). "Stars stay alive, defeat Lightning in 2OT in Game 5 of Cup Final". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  42. ^ Rosen, Dan (September 28, 2020). "Lightning win Stanley Cup, defeat Stars in Game 6 of Final". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  43. ^ NHL Public Relations. "NHL releases rosters for Stanley Cup Qualifiers". NHL. p. 26 July 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  44. ^ "Lightning's Stamkos to be limited in camp due to new lower-body injury". Sportsnet. July 11, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  45. ^ "Lightning see names engraved on Stanley Cup for first time". NHL.com. November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  46. ^ Morris, Jim (June 26, 2020). "NHL media remain in flux while awaiting finalized coverage plans ahead of restart". CBC. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  47. ^ "Return to Play FAQ". NHL.com. NHL Enterprises, L. P. July 28, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  48. ^ Best, Neil (September 9, 2020). "Doc Emrick will call Islanders-Lightning series starting in Game 4". Newsday. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  49. ^ "Legendary NHL broadcaster Mike 'Doc' Emrick announces his retirement". cnn.com. CNN. October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  50. ^ Johnston, Patrick (January 15, 2021). "Canucks Notebook: Höglander keeps late sister in his heart, broadcasters stick close to home". TheProvince.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  51. ^ "Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Hughson announces retirement". The Athletic. September 21, 2021.
[edit]
Preceded by Tampa Bay Lightning
Stanley Cup champions

2020
Succeeded by