Lightning Defeat Stars in Game 6 to Win Franchise’s 1st Stanley Cup Since 2004

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

The Tampa Bay Lightning are Stanley Cup champions for the second time in history after beating the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Monday.

Tampa Bay's only other title came in 2004. Jon Cooper guided the franchise to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 as well, but the Lightning lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

A number of players from that squad remain on the roster, none more prominent than Steven Stamkos. The Lightning captain was limited to three minutes on the ice, but he undoubtedly served as a rallying point for his teammates.

Brayden Point got his 14th goal of the playoffs, setting a franchise record, when he drew first blood on the power play in the first period.

#StanleyCup Final on NBC @NHLonNBCSports

Brayden Point. 🚨
Power Play. ✅
#GoBolts on top. ⚡️

The ICEBREAKER belongs to the @TBLightning. https://t.co/doDwzNuowx

Blake Coleman doubled Tampa Bay's lead in the second period.

#StanleyCup Final on NBC @NHLonNBCSports

The FEED. The FINISH. 🚨

#GoBolts extend their lead! #StanleyCup https://t.co/ngUDjI0YeN

Those proved to be enough as the Lightning were in the driver's seat from start to finish.

Notable Performers

Blake Coleman, C, Lightning: one goal, five shots, four hits

Nikita Kucherov, RW, Lightning: one assist, four shots

Brayden Point, C, Lightning: one goal, two shots

Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Lightning: 22 saves

Anton Khudobin, G, Stars: 27 saves

Native Son Breaks Texas Hearts

Growing up, Coleman surely dreamed of featuring in a Stanley Cup Final that included the Stars. The Plano, Texas, native probably didn't envision delivering the dagger that would deny the team a championship.

Kyle Bukauskas @SNkylebukauskas

Plano, Texas' Blake Coleman grew up idolizing Joe Nieuwendyk and the Stars and just put the Lightning up 2-0 over Dallas in the Stanley Cup Final. The world works in mysterious ways sometimes… https://t.co/DfePhayUK2

Scott Bell @ScottBellDMN

That means Coleman — the first Texas-raised player to play in the Stanley Cup Final — could end up being the hero tonight. That would be great news for Dallas fans on most nights, but not when it’s at the expense of the Stars. Here’s more on Coleman. https://t.co/q6E5xqgMmU

SportsDay Stars @dmn_stars

Blake Coleman (yes, the guy who just scored vs. the Stars) was obsessed with the Stars as a child. Now he’s trying to beat them in the #StanleyCup Final

@CallieCaplan | #GoStars https://t.co/Mwj2PwLwNX

The Lightning's goal tally doesn't properly convey how well they played. The fact they didn't score more was part of the plan as they emphasized possession and controlling the puck for long stretches instead of going for quick attacks.

James Mirtle @mirtle

Lightning at 73.5 percent possession through two periods.

Only two games all postseason have been more lopsided at even strength in that department.

Raw Charge @RawCharge

Through two periods, Lightning have controlled 69% of shot attempts and 67% of xGF at 5v5. They've controlled the game. Question is, can they do it for another period? I expect Dallas to come out of this intermission with some urgency. Lightning have a 2-0 lead.

Game 6 proved to be pretty straightforward and anticlimactic. Rather than suffering any sort of emotional letdown after losing a double-overtime thriller, the result may have motivated the Lightning to avoid letting this series extend any longer than it needed to be.

Tampa Bay's resistance didn't break, even as the Stars threw everything they had at Andrei Vasilevskiy in the final minutes.

Stars' Magic Runs out

It's safe to say interim coach Rick Bowness wasn't instructing his players to fall behind to a point where they needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat in the third period to either climb into the lead or force overtime.

Some teams lead a charmed existence during the playoffs and ride that good fortune all the way to a title. More often than not, though, good luck can be fleeting.

Though two periods Monday, the Lightning owned a 22-8 advantage in shots and had dished out 31 hits to 20 for the Stars. Tampa Bay was thoroughly outplaying Dallas on both ends of the ice.

Dan Rosen @drosennhl

The Stars have eight shots on goal through two periods. They're going to need a huge push in the third period to avoid seeing the Lightning get the Stanley Cup tonight.

Free Traffic Real Traffic At Your Finger Tips

Get Traffic With Zero Money Down

Join with bonus

Joe Smith @JoeSmithTB

“It looks like (Stars) are playing uphill, and Lightning are playing downhill.” – Eddie Olyczyk after #tblightning takes 2-0 lead after two periods. Twenty minutes from franchise’s second Stanley Cup.

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

The Lightning are 9-0 when leading after 2 periods this postseason.

On the other side, the Stars are 3-9 when trailing after 2 periods this postseason. https://t.co/TOu6iHatQB

A third-period surge was inevitable because the Stars had no other choice but to adopt a more aggressive approach.

But one outcome of ceding so much possession to Tampa Bay was that Dallas had to chase the puck for the vast majority of the first and second periods. Stamina became an issue when the Stars needed to dig deep in the last 20 minutes.