The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars 2-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals to become NHL champions.

One of the strangest postseasons in NHL history has come to an end in the bubble in Edmonton, where the entire postseason was played in quarantine because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Even without people in the arena, the Lightning celebrated joyously, finally capturing Lord Stanley’s Cup after years of heartbreak. One of the most talented groups in the NHL for some time now, the Lightning were finally able to put it all together and reach the promised land for the first time since 2004.

It was a tough road, pandemic and all, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Boston Bruins (owners of the league’s best regular-season record), and a very tough New York Islanders team before taking down the Stars.

Bryden Point scored his 14th goal (most in the playoffs) and Blake Coleman netted the other last night, with Andrei Vasilevskiy putting together another brilliant display of goaltending, stopping 22 shots on goal to win the Cup with a shutout.

Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, the MVP of the playoffs, scoring 10 goals and adding 11 assists over the course of 24 playoff games.

The post Tampa Bay Lightning Win Stanley Cup appeared first on toppoptoday.com.

There’s been a lot of uncertainty surrounding the NHL 2020/2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent report is that the season could be delayed until late December or January.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke about this at his annual state of the league address ahead of the Stanley Cup Finals, “Dec. 1 has always been a notional date. I will not be surprised if it slips into later December, could slip into January. But there’s no point right now in making any definitive comments on our plans because there’s still too much we don’t know.”

He also added that he’s optimistic about an 82-game season with the best of seven series in the playoffs.

In addition, he addressed technicalities including fans’ presence, “It’s conceivable that we start without fans, that we move to socially distant fans at some point, and by some point in time maybe our buildings are open.”

Due to the pandemic, the NHL decided to cut the 2019/20 regular season short with a three-game series play-in tournament for the teams that were contenders for the playoffs. The later stages of the Stanley Cup playoffs took place as usual with a seven-game series.

The post NHL 2020/2021 Season Still Doesn’t Have a Start Date, Could Be in December or January appeared first on toppoptoday.com.

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars 2-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals to become NHL champions.

One of the strangest postseasons in NHL history has come to an end in the bubble in Edmonton, where the entire postseason was played in quarantine because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Even without people in the arena, the Lightning celebrated joyously, finally capturing Lord Stanley’s Cup after years of heartbreak. One of the most talented groups in the NHL for some time now, the Lightning were finally able to put it all together and reach the promised land for the first time since 2004.

It was a tough road, pandemic and all, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Boston Bruins (owners of the league’s best regular-season record), and a very tough New York Islanders team before taking down the Stars.

Bryden Point scored his 14th goal (most in the playoffs) and Blake Coleman netted the other last night, with Andrei Vasilevskiy putting together another brilliant display of goaltending, stopping 22 shots on goal to win the Cup with a shutout.

Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, the MVP of the playoffs, scoring 10 goals and adding 11 assists over the course of 24 playoff games.

The post Tampa Bay Lightning Win Stanley Cup appeared first on toppoptoday.com.

There’s been a lot of uncertainty surrounding the NHL 2020/2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent report is that the season could be delayed until late December or January.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke about this at his annual state of the league address ahead of the Stanley Cup Finals, “Dec. 1 has always been a notional date. I will not be surprised if it slips into later December, could slip into January. But there’s no point right now in making any definitive comments on our plans because there’s still too much we don’t know.”

He also added that he’s optimistic about an 82-game season with the best of seven series in the playoffs.

In addition, he addressed technicalities including fans’ presence, “It’s conceivable that we start without fans, that we move to socially distant fans at some point, and by some point in time maybe our buildings are open.”

Due to the pandemic, the NHL decided to cut the 2019/20 regular season short with a three-game series play-in tournament for the teams that were contenders for the playoffs. The later stages of the Stanley Cup playoffs took place as usual with a seven-game series.

The post NHL 2020/2021 Season Still Doesn’t Have a Start Date, Could Be in December or January appeared first on toppoptoday.com.