Stanley Cup 2021: Tampa Bay Lightning beat Montreal Canadiens to win back-to-back titles
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Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate in front of their fans after Ross Colton's goal
The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated a second consecutive Stanley Cup victory in front of their home fans after beating the Montreal Canadiens 1-0.
Rookie Ross Colton's goal on seven minutes sealed the best-of-seven series 4-1 for Tampa Bay.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said the win was extra special after last year's event was played inside the NHL's biosecure bubble.
"That was huge motivation for this group," he said.
"To do this in front of our fans and our family, we didn't get a chance to do that last year. It doesn't take anything away from last year, but to do it again is just validation into history.
"This group accomplished something that not many people thought could happen."
Tampa Bay are the first team to win back-to-back titles in the NHL since the 2016 and 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins.
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said "it feels like things are normal" to the 17,000 spectators in the crowd as he handed over the Stanley Cup to Stamkos.
He added: "Full arena, incredible energy and another championship in Tampa."
In September 2020 the Lightning beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 in the series as the finals were held behind closed doors in Edmonton, Canada, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
This year's victory ended Montreal's hopes of a first Stanley Cup triumph since 1993 after a surprise play-off run.
After overcoming injuries to key players and a Covid-19 outbreak, captain Shea Weber said the team should be proud of their achievements.
"Obviously this group has a lot of character and went up against a lot of adversity this year and we proved a lot of people wrong," Weber said.
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