Joe Bartnick’s last take on the Stanley Cup Final

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LOS ANGELES – Against all odds the Stanley Cup was handed out this season. Hats off to Gary Bettman and everyone at the NHL and NHLPA. 33,174 COVID tests were taken and every result was negative. Not even one false positive, Bravo.

I hope everyone enjoyed the bubble hockey because who knows the next time, we see NHL hockey. It will be later than sooner. The NHL will not play without fans.

On a personal note after a lack luster performance predicting these playoffs, I had the Lightning in 6. Finish strong in comedy, hockey and predicting.

  1. Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have been the best regular season team in the NHL for a few years and now they have won the Stanley Cup. They used last season’s devastating first round loss to fuel their post season.
  2. A huge tap of the stick to the Dallas Stars. No team in NHL history has endured so much too inevitably come up short. It’s always heartbreaking watching the losing team in the handshake line but this year was excruciating.
  3. The moment of this year’s playoffs was Tampa Bay’s captain Steven Stamkos goal in Game 3. Stamkos played less than three minutes in the bubble but left and indelible mark on the Final. He won’t have a mental asterisk by his name on the Cup.
  4. Victor Hedman is the best defenseman in the NHL. He got to show off all of his tools on the game’s biggest stage. When you’re a defenseman and you pass Bobby Orr in goals, you’re doing something right.
  5. Brayden Point is the Lightning’s best forward. What an embarrassment for riches. He could have easily been given the Conn Smythe. He scored game winning goals and drove play for over 2 months.
  6. Nikita Kucherov has always had the talent. He won the Hart trophy. But his lackluster playoff performances have made many people question his commitment to winning. Kucherov never showed the boo boo face this playoff while enduring a considerable amount of punishment and racking up points.
  7. Ondrej Palat, the third man on Tampa’s top line is no 3rd He does the dirty work and buries his chances. Palat’s goal in Game 5 was the ultimate power forward move. He looked like Brendan Shanahan.
  8. It wasn’t to long ago that along with Stamko, Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn were Tampa’s best forwards, now their good depth players.
  9. Patrick Maroon now has 2 years and 2 Cups with 2 different teams. Maroon is proof the physicality is still at a premium in hockey.
  10. Lightning GM Patrice Brisebois’s trade deadline acquisitions Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow gave Tampa Bay what they didn’t have last year GRIT. Those 2 along with Yanni Gourde gave the Lightning something every Cup team has, a solid 3rd A line that is defensively responsible, always takes the body and scores the odd goal.
  11. The New York Rangers had to be wondering why Ryan McDonagh had not played that well in New York for years and Kevin Shattenkirk never played that well as a Ranger.The Cup winner always has a redemption story. Zach Bogosian was bought out and waived this year by Buffalo. The outhouse to the penthouse.
  12. Luke Schenn now has a Stanly Cup ring to match his brother’s ring. Thanksgiving will be a lot easier on Luke.
  13. Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was not magnificent, but he was good enough. His ability to play the puck stalled Dallas’s forecheck.
  14. Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper did a marvelous job. He not only kept the players mentally engaged His game planning was exquisite. I’ m usually not a fan of 11 forwards 7 defensemen but it worked. Schenn for defense and Shattenkirk for offense save wear and tear on defense and enabled Stamkos to enter lineup and not break up any lines.
  15. Injuries are never an excuse but the Dallas played without key depth forwards Roope Hintz, Blake Comeau and Radek Faksa diminished Dallas’ depth and physicality in the offensive zone.
  16. The Stars big line gave maximum effort in this series but did not have much to show for it. Jamie Benn and Alexander Rudulov were feisty but unproductive. Tyler Seguin produced only assists and only after he was dropped in the lineup.
  17. Dallas’s grumpy old men Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry found the fountain of youth. They were brought in by Dallas this off season to provided exactly what they provided, leadership and goals in the playoffs. You have to feel for Pavelski, he now leads all American born players in playoff goals and doesn’t have a Cup. Perry got his Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007.
  18. The Stars defense got exposed. Some of which can be blamed on fatigue, some on Tampa’s relentless talent but mostly on the fact John Klingberg was their only righthanded defenseman. Playing the puck on your backhand against a team as fast and skilled as Tampa is very difficult. Miro Heiskanen is phenomenal, but he is a kid. Klingberg was solid but Esa Lindell was an inconsistent highlight machine. Lindell will being see Stamkos and Palat in his nightmares and the NHL network for the rest of his life.
  19. Dallas goalie Anton Khudobin put up a fight but shows why he’s a career 1 B goaltender at best. Dallas needed a monumental effort in net to beat Tampa. Khudobin played as well as a journeyman could be expected to play.