TAMPA, FL. – The Lightning is in the midst of a good season, currently topping the Eastern Division.
With back-to-back Stanley Cup already in the bag, fans will be hoping the form continues and delivers an unprecedented triple crown in 2022. No team has won three in a row this century, with the Islanders the last to manage it back at the start of the eighties.
Is it possible? There’s no reason why not. Nikita Kucherov has recently returned to the ice, which certainly boosts their chances, and pundits think they’re likely to do it as well.
In the latest ice hockey market from Bwin they’re second favorites, behind Colorado Avalanche. Jared Bednar’s team are without a Stanley Cup in 20 years, and whilst they might be a danger to Lighting, they might also just be a bit-part player in a wonderful slice of history for Tampa.
Much of Lighting’s success has come in recent years, but why not take a moment to pause and reflect on some of the great achievements in recent years before hopefully adding another chapter to the story later this year. Here are three great moments in Tampa Bay Lighting History before the recent Stanley Cup double.
Manon Rheaume 1992
The Lightning was founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Norris Division of the Campbell Conference, and no sooner had that happened than they made history, or rather Manon Rheaume made history. As History explains, She became the first and only woman to play in the NHL during a pre-season game against the St. Louis Blues. It was a groundbreaking moment for women’s hockey and credited with driving the expansion of the women’s game at a national level.
The Playoffs 2011
Sport is the only arena where success can be classed as a failure. In any other profession, being close to your goal can be seen as being close to success, but as 2011 taught Lightning fans, sport is all or nothing. After three years of not making the playoffs, the Bolts beat the Penguins and thrashed the Capitals en route to what looked like a second Stanley Cup win. It wasn’t to be; an agonizing defeat in game seven of the conference final against the Bruins broke hearts, but looking back, it was a great journey amid six barren years.
The First Stanley Cup 2004
Between 1992 and 2003, the Bolts failed to make the playoffs nine times out of eleven. It was a steep learning curve, but in 2004 it finally happened; a Stanley Cup came to Tampa Bay. It is described as one of the best finals of all time, and that’s certainly true in the eyes of Tampa fans.
The conference semi-finals against the Canadiens was a highlight, a 4-0 win sparking dreams of that first triumph, but it was better than anything that could have been imagined when it arrived. Ruslan Fedotenko scored twice in game seven against the Flames to secure victory and give captain Dave Andreychuk the only Stanley Cup of his 23-year career. For almost two decades, it seemed like the pinnacle of Lighting’s history.
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