For a second straight season, the Tampa Bay Lightning are Stanley Cup Champions.

This time around, in front of a raucous crowd at Amalie Arena rather than in the Edmonton bubble, the Lightning delivered a final 1-0 punch to the Montreal Canadiens to claim the ultimate victory. It was the culmination of a season with COVID-related challenges, on-ice question marks, injury concerns, and much, much more.

While the final score in the series will read a lopsided four games to one, the Montreal Canadiens deserve a ton of credit for their performance, especially in the last two games. So many people around the league failed to recognize their effectiveness, instead calling it "luck" or something similar. Their work in the last two games of this series should put that narrative to rest. The Canadiens made the Lightning grind out this victory; they took away Tampa's opportunity to play the high-powered, offensive game they like to play.

Every championship run is different, but the back-to-back nature of these 2020 and 2021 victories provides for a unique opportunity to compare. Whereas last year the Lightning were thousands of miles from home, this year they had the chance to get the job done at Amalie Arena. Whereas last year Steven Stamkos was on the sideline for almost the entire run, this year the Captain was a key cog in the offensive machine.

Of course, it's not just the differences that make this this win special. Andrei Vasilevskiy was once again an absolute rock for the Lightning, shutting out opponents in clinching games at an unprecedented rate. Nikita Kucherov, who missed the entire regular season, was once again a force in the postseason. There are so many reasons to be excited about what this group just accomplished.

Simply put, any outside (and unwarranted) questions about this team's legitimacy as a true champion have been answered. This is a special team that has marked its place in history.

With cap challenges expected to cause offseason changes, this Stanley Cup celebration provides for a fitting end to the roster as we know it. There is a very real chance that at least one or two core players will be shipped away to get the Lightning under the upper limit. With that said, the core of Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Andrei Vasilevskiy should still be around; that alone will give the Bolts a chance at going for a third straight, even if the supporting cast around them might look a little bit different.

So, same time next year, fellas?

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