The Tampa Bay Lightning face the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final
Chris Johnston: Lightning coach Jon Cooper hopes the Bell Centre will increase their capacity for the Stanley Cup Final: “I hope they let more fans in there. The fans of Quebec, they haven’t been back since ’93, they deserve to watch their team play. I hope they get in there because … this game was meant to be played in front of fans.”
Arthur Staple: New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz after the game: “I said to them, this group is special. Their character, their work ethic. It’s undeniable. Our group believed we could do this. We still could. Some guys are beat up, worn out, hurt and they just keep going. There’s a bond between the players that’s really strong.”
NHL: Some of the numbers and records that occurred during the game and series.
- “Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded his fourth straight series-clinching shutout (also Game 6 of 2020 SCF, Game 6 of 2021 R1 & Game 5 of 2021 R2), extending the longest such run by a netminder in NHL history.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy became the ninth goaltender to record four or more series-clinching shutouts (also Game 6 of 2020 SCF, Game 6 of 2021 R1 and Game 5 of 2021 R2) in NHL history. He trails only Clint Benedict and Chris Osgood (both w/ 5) for the most in NHL history.
- Yanni Gourde scored the only goal of the game, marking the eighth time in NHL history a Game 7 finished 1-0 and first since 2011 Conference Finals.
- Yanni Gourde became the sixth player in NHL history to score a shorthanded winning goal in a Game 7, joining Steve Larmer (1990 DF), Dave Poulin (1989 DF), Brian Propp (1987 DF), Dave Keon (1964 SF) and Leo Reise Jr. (1949 SF).
- * Pat Maroon is four wins from becoming the first player since 1983 to win at least three consecutive Stanley Cup championships – 19 players won at least three straight titles with the Islanders during their reign from 1980 to 1983 (17 skaters and two goaltenders).”
Andrei Vasilveskiy continued his spectacular playoff run, elevating the Bolts big time and pitching two shut-outs in game 5 and 7.
The Isles goalies were fine outside of the game five disaster but they got handily outduelled. pic.twitter.com/LaRYRqNUbL
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 26, 2021
The @TBLightning (2004, 2015, 2020 & 2021) became just the fourth franchise to reach the #StanleyCup Final at least four times since 1992-93 – their inaugural season.#NHLStats: https://t.co/PGFhFyU1eR pic.twitter.com/vQZr89NAa6
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 26, 2021