Carolina Hurricanes: 2026 Stanley Cup Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Twenty years later, the Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions again.

Vegas Golden Knights: 2022-23 Stanley Cup Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Vegas, baby, Vegas.

The Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup for the first time in their six seasons, defeating the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Mark Stone scored a hat trick, Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore each had three assists, and Reilly Smith had a goal and an assist for Vegas. Adin Hill made 31 saves. 

The Golden Knights had seven goal-scorers and 15 players with at least one point.

Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett each had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for the Panthers.

Florida played without forward Matthew Tkachuk, its leading scorer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (24 points; 11 goals, 13 assists), who sustained an injury in Game 3 but played through it in Game 4. The Panthers did not disclose the nature of Tkachuk's injury before Game 5, but it is believed to be to his upper body.

Stone got the Golden Knights started by making it 1-0 with a short-handed goal off a 2-on-1 at 11:52 of the first period. He kept the puck on the rush and waited out Bobrovsky before shooting high to the glove side from in close.

Hill gave the Golden Knights a chance to score first with a left-pad save on Anton Lundell, who was in alone on him, at 2:24, and a save on Aleksander Barkov with his left skate 18 seconds before Stone's goal.

Nicolas Hague gave Vegas a 2-0 lead at 13:41. He came in from the blue line, got to a loose puck in front of Bobrovsky and put it in.

Jonathan Marchessault had an assist on Hague's goal to extend his Golden Knights playoff-record point streak to 10 games (15 points; eight goals, seven assists). He finished as the leading scorer in the playoffs with 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 22 games.

Aaron Ekblad cut it to 2-1 at 2:15 of the second period with a shot through traffic from the right point that beat Hill over his left shoulder.

The Golden Knights scored four goals in the last 9:32 of the second period to put the game out of reach.

Alec Martinez scored from the right face-off circle off a drop pass from Eichel to make it 3-1 at 10:28.

Smith scored 1:45 later to make it 4-1 at 12:13, beating Bobrovsky from the right side after William Karlsson set him up with a no-look, backhanded, between-the-legs pass in the slot. 

Stone's second of the game made it 5-1 at 17:15. Chandler Stephenson brought the puck into the zone on the right side and dropped it to Brett Howden, who moved it across to Stone in the left circle. His shot got through Bobrovsky.

Michael Amadio made it 6-1 at 19:58 by scoring from the slot on his own rebound.

Ivan Barbashev extended the lead to 7-1 at 8:22 of the third period. Reinhart cut it to 7-2 25 seconds later at 8:47, and Bennett made it 7-3 at 11:39 with a shot off Alex Pietrangelo's stick.

Stone finished his hat trick with an unassisted, length-of-the-ice empty-net goal to make it 8-3 at 14:06.

Nicolas Roy capped it at 18:58 for the 9-3 final.

Colorado Avalanche: 2021-22 Stanley Cup Champions

TAMPA -- The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001 with a 2-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on Sunday.

"Twenty-plus years of just dreaming, wanting and working for it," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "Just finally coming to fruition after a lot of crazy years and a lot of hard work. This group is just amazing, and all the way from the top to our massage therapists to our wives to the fans to everybody working in Ball Arena. It's incredible.

"[General manager Joe Sakic] did a great job of picking up some pieces along the way that really, really made us hard to play against. You look at [Cogliano], you look at [Darren Helm], you look at [Nico Sturm], [Manson], you look at all these guys, all these pieces that, they just want to win so bad and they just want to do whatever it takes, and it just adds up to just a really hard team to play against."

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, and Artturi Lehkonen scored for the Avalanche, who bounced back from a 3-2 loss in Game 5 at home on Friday to win the Cup for the third time in their history (also 1996). Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves.

"Disbelief. It's crazy," MacKinnon said. "I can't wait to hug my family. Geez, it's hard to describe. I didn't really know what it would feel like to actually win it, but just seeing all these warriors battle, it just feels unbelievable. Words can't describe how I feel right now.

"Nothing but amazing. I have no complaints. Some tough years mixed in there, but it's all worth it now. We never stopped believing. The core guys that have been around, 10 years now, coming in at 18 like Gabe, and [Erik Johnson], to now, it's been amazing. It's so amazing to see guys like [Andrew Cogliano], Jack Johnson, all the veterans, [Josh] Manson, guys that haven't won it yet. It's so amazing."

Colorado closed out each of its four series on the road, where it went 9-1 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I just look at these guys and all the work these guys have put in," said Cale Makar, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy voted as most valuable player of the playoffs. "'E.J.', Nate, 'Landy,' Mikko [Rantanen], they've been here so many years, ups and downs. It's just so awesome to be part of them getting rewarded, all their hard work and their success over the years. Just so proud of the boys, honestly. It's just so awesome.

"You grow up, you see that thing as a kid and you have picture of it on your wall. All I think about is everybody that got me here. My family's in the stands, so it's amazing wherever they are. It's surreal."

Steven Stamkos scored, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves for the Lightning, who fell short in their bid to be the first team to win the Cup in three straight seasons since the New York Islanders won it in four straight from 1980-83.

"The playoff streak, that ended, but it's not the end of our run," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "… Sometimes you don't really remember as much the teams that didn't win, but I think I'll remember this team the most. What these guys went through, the injuries, it was well documented the warriors they were. You should see what's going on [in the locker room]. I've never seen anything like this or been more proud of a team than this group. I will always remember them, and we didn't win. It's a tribute to them. It's crushing, though."

Stamkos gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 3:48 of the first period. Nikita Kucherov won a battle along the boards against MacKinnon below the goal line before knocking the puck away from Cale Makar. The loose puck then ricocheted off the skate of Lightning forward Ondrej Palat in the left circle directly to Stamkos, who swept a shot five-hole on Kuemper from in front.

MacKinnon tied it 1-1 at 1:54 of the second period. During a delayed penalty, Bowen Byram fed MacKinnon for a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle that went in short side off Vasilevskiy's blocker.

Lehkonen gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 12:28 of the second. Skating in on a 3-on-2 rush, MacKinnon tried to send a return pass to Manson, but the puck deflected off the skate of Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh to Lehkonen, who quickly shot glove side from the left circle.

Colorado outshot Tampa Bay 9-4 in the third period.

"Every emotion you can possibly think of," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "I'm just so happy and so proud of these guys and what they've put in. To see them get rewarded for all their hard work, it's hard to describe. There's a sense of relief, a sense of satisfaction. It's still sinking in. When the buzzer went, there was almost disbelief that we got the job done. It's been an amazing ride, and I'm just grateful to have been able to be a part of it with this team."

Tampa Bay Lightning: 2020 Stanley Cup Champions

After last season's shocking first round sweep and playoff exit, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois knew some changes had to made in order to have a better result the next time his team qualified for the postseason.

BriseBois didn't want to blow up the core of the team that had been in place for a number of seasons. And changes to the coaching staff didn't make sense either.

Instead, BriseBois identified three areas his team would have to get better in order to achieve their ultimate goal of lifting the Stanley Cup.

The Lightning needed to reduce the number of quality chances against. That meant, protecting the slot more robustly and reducing the number of minor penalties the team took.

They needed to battle harder and be more physical, whether by having more of a net-front presence or winning more puck battles.

And, finally, they needed to manage the game better.

"And we did that," BriseBois said. "And because we did, we were a better team."

The Lightning made additions during the offseason to achieve their goals. They brought in Curtis McElhinney to be the backup goaltender even though they had a backup goalie on the roster in Louis Domingue because McElhinney gave them cost certainty at the position for two seasons with a salary cap crunch looming. They added Luke Schenn and Kevin Shattenkirk to their blueline. Schenn provided a veteran, physical presence that proved particularly effective in playoff series against Boston and the New York Islanders. Shattenkirk fell into the Lightning's lap after his contract was bought out by the New York Rangers. He partnered well with Mikhail Sergachev and aided in the youngster's development as a standout on the blueline. He also gave the Lightning some scoring punch and was invaluable in the locker room.

And at forward, the Lightning brought in Pat Maroon, who won a Stanley Cup the previous season with his hometown St. Louis Blues and knew what it took to manage the ups and downs of an extended playoff run.

"Both Kevin and Pat Maroon we signed with them bringing some leadership to our group in mind," BriseBois said. "They still both managed to exceed my expectations in terms of how much they brought to our locker room, how much they brought to our team both on and off the ice. Not that my expectations were low, they still found a way to manage to exceed my expectations. They were key contributors to our team, and they may have been exactly what we needed. It's nice when things work out."

The 2019-20 regular season certainly didn't go off without a hitch. The Lightning slogged their way through the first two months of the season. By mid-December, they were well out of a playoff spot and sixth in the Atlantic Division behind teams like Florida, Montreal and Buffalo.

But from December 23 through February 17, when the team capped a franchise record 11-game win streak with a 4-3 overtime victory in Colorado, the Lightning went 23-2-1, moved to within a point of the Boston Bruins for first place overall in the NHL and firmly established themselves as a playoff team and a top contender for the Stanley Cup.

More than that, however, the aspects of their game BriseBois laid out at the beginning of the season the Lightning would need to be successful come playoff time came to fruition. Over a stretch from the beginning of the 2020 calendar year to that win in Denver, the Lightning didn't allow more than three goals in a single contest and became one of the League's best teams defensively and in managing the puck, their 1.77 goals against average over that stretch tops in the League.

"All in all, we had a good team, and the numbers kind of support that," BriseBois said.

At the trade deadline, BriseBois had an opportunity to upgrade his already dangerous team. He identified a need for a couple of forwards that could fit into their top nine. And he needed another right-shot defenseman, especially with long-term injuries to Jan Rutta and Ryan McDonagh.

"I thought we could really benefit from adding two forwards that were going to be hard to play against, bring some size, bring some snarl, some sandpaper," BriseBois said. "And we were really good defensively. We're trying to improve our team defensively at that point and be harder to play against."

The Lightning traded for Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow to augment the forward group. The price to acquire them was steep - collectively, the Lightning gave up two first round draft picks in 2020 and prized prospect Nolan Foote - but BriseBois said he couldn't pass up the opportunity to add two players who could step into the lineup immediately and make an impact at the expense of future assets that might or might not pan out on the NHL level.

"My mindset at that point was to be very aggressive in the pursuit of the pieces that I believed could give us a strong push forward," BriseBois said. "It wasn't just about adding depth to our team, it was about making our team better, all the while keeping an eye on next season and trying to make sure that we remain a competitive team year in and year out. We were also looking at players that we could potentially add to our group that had good contracts going forward and that made adding Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow all the more attractive to us."

And with Bogosian, the Lightning were looking to bring in a right-shot defenseman anyway, and when the veteran defenseman in his 12th season in the league became available after having his contract terminated by Buffalo, he became the best option.

Plus, as a free agent, he didn't require the forfeiture of any assets to get him, and the Lightning had enough room under the cap to sign him.

"Picking up Zach Bogosian certainly ended up being a key decision I think in our success because he was an important player for us on the ice," BriseBois said.

Once the new additions joined the team, the Lightning's play dipped a bit as they worked to integrate the pieces into their puzzle. But that's where the four-month pause might have benefited the Lightning more than any other team because they were able to assimilate the new players into the group during the down time and then they were basically able to have a training camp with the team during the two-week camp before the team left for the bubble in Toronto.

"I have to give credit to our players, their commitment to winning this season, it never waned," BriseBois said. "I was continually in touch with them (during the pause). They were continuously in touch with our director of sport performance Mark Lambert, and they stayed on top of their conditioning. They also did a great job staying at home and eliminating their risk of getting the COVID virus."

Once in the playoffs, the Lightning quickly established themselves as the tournament's most dominant team. The five overtime win in Game 1 of the First Round versus Columbus was a breakthrough for the team, giving them confidence after what happened against the same team the year prior. And then the Bolts got better and better as the playoffs moved along, overcoming injuries and bad bounces to lift the Cup at the end following a six-game series against the Dallas Stars in the Cup Final, the culmination of over two months inside the bubble in what could arguably be considered the most difficult Stanley Cup Playoffs ever contested.

"I am in awe of what our guys accomplished. I am in awe of how deep they had to dig physically and mentally in order for us to fly back to Tampa with the Cup," BriseBois said. "It was, being able to witness it up close, it was awesome, it was awe-inspiring, it was just so incredible what they did. I'm going to get my name engraved on the Stanley Cup and I was honored to be nominated for GM of the year, but that has a lot more to do with the work of our players, the work and the sacrifices of our players and our staff and our coaches then it does with me. I am truly appreciative and grateful for everything that they've done. It is not lost on me that I am the beneficiary of all their hard work and sacrifices. And now as (Lightning head coach Jon Cooper) says, we get to walk together forever as the 2020 Stanley Cup champions."

Now that the season is over, the reality is the team the Lightning put on the ice in Game 6 against Dallas will be different from the one that begins the 2020-21 regular season, whenever that is. A flat salary cap and a number of players either beginning new contracts next season or coming off entry-level contracts and due a raise means that some key members of the team's core will probably have to move on this offseason.

"Even though I would like to bring this whole group back together so we could try to defend our championship and that would be my preference if I got to choose what I would want to do is bring everyone back as is and we try to defend our title, the reality is I can't do that," BriseBois said. "The cap just doesn't allow that to happen. It never does for any team. There's always some turnover, and this year the turnover is going to require that some of our players that have been here for a while and just helped us win a championship aren't going to be returning."

BriseBois said signing Mikhail Sergachev, Anthony Cirelli and Erik Cernak to new contracts is a priority. All three of those players are coming off their entry-level deals.

"(They) haven't really entered their prime yet, and they're going to allow us to continue to be a good team going forward for many years," BriseBois said.

BriseBois said he doesn't expect to have to buy out anyone's contract. And he has an ongoing dialogue with players to keep them in the loop about what or when decisions will be made.

"I think it's important for everyone to get a chance to properly celebrate this championship as a team with their teammates," BriseBois said. "I wish I didn't have to have the types of conversations I'm going to have to have as soon as I will. But it's just the reality of our business. Ultimately, it's in their best interest too. The sooner they know, the better for them as well."

As for Steven Stamkos, the Lightning captain played just one game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, that coming in Game 3 of the Cup Final when he scored a goal on his third shift of the game and first shot but wasn't able to continue after 2:47 of ice time, forever immortalizing himself in Cup lore for his effort in an abbreviated appearance.

BriseBois said Stamkos had sports hernia surgery on March 2 and was progressing well through Phase 2 of the team's return to play but suffered a new injury where his body was overcompensating for the sports hernia, which is why he wasn't able to play until so late in the playoffs and then for only such a short amount of time.

But BriseBois reiterated Stamkos is not expected to miss the start of next season's training camp and should be fully recovered once that starts.

"The whole pandemic certainly didn't help his cause because it was hard to, you couldn't send him anywhere to go see specialists," BriseBois said. "If he goes out of the bubble, now he's got to quarantine again. What's the trade off? He wants to be around the team. We want him around the team. It certainly complicated matters, and I will know more next week (when Stamkos sees a specialist)…But we're talking about weeks of rehab and not months of rehab, and we fully expect him to be ready for the start of training camp whenever that will be."

St. Louis Blues: 2018-19 Stanley Cup Champions

BOSTON -- The St. Louis Blues are Stanley Cup champions for the first time.

St. Louis defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on Wednesday.

"It doesn't feel real," Blues center Brayden Schenn said. "It's absolutely incredible. I can't even explain. It feels like a video game we're in. It's what you dream of as a kid, posing with the Stanley Cup, getting to lift it. It's a special group. We're going to party hard."

Jordan Binnington made 32 saves; Alex Pietrangelo and Ryan O'Reilly each had a goal and an assist; and Schenn and Zach Sanford scored for St. Louis, which entered the NHL in 1967-68 and had never won a Cup Final game in three prior appearances (1968-70).

O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"Most of these guys on [the trophy] I pretended I was as a kid, and now to be on here with them, it's an incredible feeling," O'Reilly said. "I can't believe that we hung on and got this done."

Tuukka Rask made 16 saves, and Matt Grzelcyk scored for Boston, which won Game 6 of the best-of-7 series 5-1 on Sunday.

"It's an empty feeling," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "It's a long year. Someone had to win and someone had to lose and we came out on the wrong side of it. It's not the way you picture it. It's as simple as that."

The Blues were last in the NHL on Jan. 3. They are the first team to win the Stanley Cup after being last in the standings at least 30 games into a season.

St. Louis defeated the Winnipeg Jets in six games in the Western Conference First Round, the Dallas Stars in seven games in the second round, and the San Jose Sharks in six games in the conference final.

"It had to be this way, man," Binnington said. "It was an incredible year and I can't believe where we're at. It's awesome."

Rask allowed more than three goals in a game for the first time since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 17, ending a streak of 19 games allowing three or fewer. He allowed two goals on four shots in the first period.

"It was a nightmare for me, obviously," Rask said. "Barely didn't make a save in the first. And you know we tried to create, we had good chances, and [Binnington] made the saves when they needed."

O'Reilly gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 16:47 of the first period, scoring from between the hash marks on a deflection of Jay Bouwmeester's shot from the point. He became the first player to score in four straight Cup Final games since Wayne Gretzky did so with the Edmonton Oilers in 1985.

O'Reilly was the leading scorer of the Cup Final with nine points (five goals, four assists) and finished tied for the most points in the playoffs with 23 (eight goals, 15 points) with Bruins forward Brad Marchand (nine goals, 14 assists).

"Put the team on his back," Schenn said of O'Reilly. "He obviously believed we could do it. We all believed we could do it. He led the way."

Pietrangelo made it 2-0 with eight seconds left in the first. He scored on a forehand-backhand deke with a shot over Rask's blocker from the slot.

The Bruins outshot the Blues 12-4 in the first period and 23-10 through two periods but did not score.

Binnington, who played one NHL game three seasons ago prior to Dec. 16, became the first rookie goalie to win 16 games in a single NHL postseason.

"He was outstanding tonight," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "I thought it was his best game of the series."

Schenn made it 3-0 at 11:25 of the third period, scoring on a one-timer off a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko. Sanford extended the lead to 4-0 at 15:22.

Grzelcyk ended Binnington's shutout with 2:10 remaining to make it 4-1.

"We did it, we did it," Blues forward Pat Maroon said. "I mean, there's nothing else. We put everything on the line from Jan. 3 on and we deserve this. What a way to finish it."

They said it
"We knew it was there, we knew we had the pieces, but it was so educational for myself to see how tough it is and how hard you have to work and how even-keel you have to be to keep coming every day and just keep punching at it. It was always there that we can do it, but to actually do it, it's exhausting. I'm exhausted." -- Blues forward Ryan O'Reilly

"We thought we were going to do it. We had that belief we have all year. We've done it plenty of times. It takes one goal to get going and swing that momentum, and we just didn't get that one early enough. We thought that we'd be able to come back, but obviously we didn't." -- Bruins forward Brad Marchand


Need to know
The road team won five games in the Cup Final for the fourth time (1945, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings; 1966, Montreal Canadiens and Red Wings; 2000, New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars). ... The Blues finished 10-3 on the road in the playoffs, including 3-1 in the Cup Final. They are the seventh team in NHL history, first since 2000, to win three road games in the Cup Final (1921 Ottawa Senators, 1928 New York Rangers, 1945 Maple Leafs, 1966 Canadiens, 1990 Edmonton Oilers, 2000 Devils). All seven won the Stanley Cup. ... St. Louis tied the record for most road wins in a single postseason (1995 Devils, 2000 Devils, 2004 Calgary Flames, 2012 Los Angeles Kings, 2018 Washington Capitals). ... The Blues are the fourth team in the NHL modern era (since 1943-44), first in 30 years, to win the Cup without a previous Cup winner on the roster (1974 Philadelphia Flyers, 1980 New York Islanders, 1989 Flames). ... St. Louis was swept in the Cup Final by the Montreal Canadiens twice and the Bruins. ... Boston has lost the Cup Final 14 times, most of any team.


What's next
Season complete

Pittsburgh Penguins: 2016 Stanley Cup Champions

Who needs a goal on the statistical ledger when you win a Stanley Cup?

There’s another addition to Sidney Crosby’s championship legacy in the form of the Pittsburgh Penguins' fourth Stanley Cup title.

The Elias Sports Bureau’s research shows that Crosby is the third skater to win the Conn Smythe despite not scoring a goal in the Stanley Cup finals -- joining Scott Niedermayer of the Ducks in 2007 and Jonathan Toews with the Blackhawks in 2010. All three were captains of their respective teams.

Crosby has two titles, the same number as Penguins owner Mario Lemieux. He has won five championships overall, including two Olympic gold medals and the 2015 world championship. He also has the same number of professional titles as LeBron James.

The history

This is the Penguins' first title since 2009 (which they also won on June 12). All four have been won on the road. The Penguins’ four titles are tied with the Red Wings for the most since 1991, the year of the Penguins' first championship. The Penguins are 4-0 in games in which they had a chance to clinch the Cup on the road.

Among teams to debut since the NHL’s first expansion in 1967-68, the only team with more Stanley Cup titles is the Oilers with five, all between 1984 and 1990.

The goalie

Penguins goalie Matt Murray went 6-0 immediately after a loss this postseason. Elias Sports Bureau research shows that his 15 wins match the most by a rookie goalie in a single postseason and that he’s the seventh rookie goalie to win all four games during the Stanley Cup finals, the first since Cam Ward in 2006.

The best support

Crosby won the Conn Smythe, but Phil Kessel was also one of the Penguins' top players. Kessel was traded from the Maple Leafs in a six-player deal after being much maligned in Toronto.

His sister, Amanda, was not going to play her senior season at Minnesota after suffering a concussion. But things changed for the family. Amanda returned in February and scored the game-winning goal in the national championship at the Frozen Four. She won three national titles at Minnesota.

Kessel’s season turned on March 13 when he joined a line with Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino. He led the Penguins with 10 goals and 22 points in 24 postseason games.

To top it off, on May 1, Amanda signed a one-year deal with the New York Riveters of the NWHL (National Women’s Hockey League) worth $26,000, making her the top-paid player in the league.

How they won

The story of the series was how the Penguins limited the Sharks' opportunities. The Sharks had 67 shot attempts in Game 6 and the Penguins blocked 33 of them. The Penguins blocked 136 shots in the series, an average of 23 per game.

Chicago Blackhawks: 2015 Stanley Cup Champions

CHICAGO -- There was a moment in the pause before the Stanley Cup arrived on the ice when Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews skated away from his teammates, looked up to the roaring, raucous crowd, and started applauding.

Cameras followed him, showing him on the scoreboard.

"Unbelievable," Toews said with his arms raised, hands clapping. "Unbelievable."

The 22,424 standing, hugging, cheering, selfie-taking, red-clad and relieved fans applauded back at their captain, loudly. Toews smiled and pumped his fists.

"I was just trying to absorb every moment, and I'm still trying to do it," Toews said on the ice, long after NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman handed him the Stanley Cup for the third time in six seasons. "It doesn't feel real. Even in the dying minutes, I can't really remember anything that happened to be honest with you. It was a dream, start to finish.

 "This is pretty awesome."

There is no better way to describe the scene that unfolded inside United Center on Monday. Chicago's 2-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 gave way to the first on-ice Stanley Cup celebration in Chicago since 1938.

The Blackhawks won the Cup in Philadelphia in 2010, and in Boston in 2013. Those were great, special, and meant everything to this team and its players. They were topped by the memories created inside the building appropriately called the Madhouse on Madison.

"There's nothing like it," Blackhawks president and Chicago native John McDonough said. "Being from here, hailing from the city of Chicago, not the suburbs, and going with the ebb and flow of sports teams my entire life; I was around for the Bulls run and I never thought I'd see anything like that ever again. Maybe you never will. I mean, six championships in eight years, that's amazing. But we're really fortunate. This fan base gave us a chance. They came back and we're thrilled that we're able to reward them."

The Blackhawks had a 1-0 lead on Conn Smythe Trophy winner Duncan Keith's goal at 17:13 of the second period. But the crowd was still tense as the third period started to unfold, even though the Blackhawks simply don't lose when they enter the third period with a lead.

They were 25-0 in those situations during the regular season. They were 8-0 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It was obvious in the first few minutes that they weren't going to lose this one.

Chicago started to execute what essentially was a perfect game plan. Every time the Lightning got the puck into the offensive zone, the Blackhawks knocked it right back out. The tension in the building slowly began to fade.

With 9:34 remaining and a whistle for a hand pass that led to a television timeout, it finally cracked. The fans stood, just about every single one of them, and started cheering during the timeout.

Play resumed, and less than a minute passed before the "Let's go Hawks" chant started to reverberate through the arena with 8:47 remaining. They were excited, eager, but patient. Remember, it was still just a one-goal lead.

Then it happened.

Brandon Saad broke out of the defensive zone and down the left wing. The crowd surged. Saad put a drop pass onto Brad Richards' stick. The crowd sensed what was coming.

Richards froze goalie Ben Bishop with a shot-fake that led to a perfect pass to Patrick Kane. The crowd rose.

Kane slammed home a one-timer, the D.J. cued up "Chelsea Dagger," and at 14:46 of the third period there was bedlam in the building and presumably around all the bars and restaurants and homes and office buildings in the city of Chicago.

"At the 10-minute mark the crowd sensed the Hawks were going to win this, and you just had a feeling somehow the Hawks were going to score that second goal," Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz said. "And if you could have a storybook ending, it was Patrick, the guy who could do it."

It appeared that nobody who entered the building with a coveted and expensive ticket Monday night sat down for the final 5:14.

There was no more tension, not with a two-goal lead. There was only a celebration with chants of "We want the Cup," and "Corey, Corey, Corey" after goalie Corey Crawford made back-to-back saves on Ondrej Palat's two chances in the slot at 16:37.

They sang along, "You gotta fight, for your right, to party" as the D.J. played the Beastie Boys' classic. The shots were 32-19 in favor of the Blackhawks at this time. The score was 2-0. Masterful.

"Everybody was standing up," forward Marian Hossa said. "What a moment."

They were hugging each other, holding each other arm in arm.

Finally, once the clock bled down to 10 seconds, the countdown was on. Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one …"Chelsea Dagger" again. Bedlam. Insanity.

Fans sitting in the last row below the press box were high-fiving former Blackhawks forward and current radio color commentator Troy Murray. They were standing on seats. They were taking pictures of the ice, of themselves, of the crowd, the scoreboard, of anything.

They went bonkers when Keith was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. They sang along to "Sweet Home Chicago" as they watched the Blackhawks and Lightning go through the traditional handshake line.

That the Stanley Cup's arrival was delayed by the flooded streets of Chicago, a result of a massive storm that blew through the city prior to the game, mattered very little.

The party was on.

"I don't think there's going to be much sleeping tonight," Kane said.

In the middle of the sea of people on the ice, players with family members, credentialed media with cameras and microphones and recorders and notebooks, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman found Saad, the best of Chicago's second-generation core, and embraced him.

Saad, remember, can become a restricted free agent on July 1. He could well be targeted with an offer sheet by one of 29 other teams.

"I gave a hug and I said, 'This is the [second] of many, we're going to win a lot together,'" Bowman said. "He gave me a big hug and said, 'Let's go.'

"I don't think he would want to leave after this scene here."

Nobody did. Nobody wanted to miss a moment.

"Incredible," Toews said. "Incredible."

Los Angeles Kings: 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

It took the Kings 45 years to win their first Stanley Cup.

Then how come it felt like 45 years to win No. 2?

Maybe this was simply cosmic and blood pressure-soaring payback for their Cup run of 2012 being far too smooth and so relatively unruffled.

With one final flourish, they needed only to play their longest game in franchise history to win their second Stanley Cup in three seasons. Their postseason of looking as if they were skating uphill finally ended when defenseman Alec Martinez scored from the base of the left circle at 14:43 of double overtime, giving the Kings a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night at Staples Center.

They clinched the best-of-seven-game series, four games to one, after having needed to go to a seventh game in the first three rounds of the playoffs. The hardest playoff run stayed on script with an enthralling finish.

"It suits us, don't it? This is the way it's been the entire playoffs," said Kings center Anze Kopitar.

Said Kings left wing Kyle Clifford, who had the second assist on the game-winning goal and played one of his strongest playoff games: "The difference is that we had to struggle this year. It gives you that great feeling that you've gone out and earned it."

Kings captain Dustin Brown accepted the Stanley Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Brown had his turn with the Cup, and in a classy move, he then handed it to defenseman Robyn Regehr, who had been out, injured, since the first game of the second round against the Ducks. Regehr came close to winning the Cup when he played for Kings Coach Darryl Sutter in Calgary, but the Flames lost to Tampa Bay in seven games in 2004.

In 2012, Kings goalie Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff most valuable player, and this time it was winger Justin Williams winning it. Williams had nine goals, including the Kings' first goal in Game 5 to make it 1-0, and had 25 points in 26 playoff games. His nickname of Mr. Game 7 turned out to be a flexible one.

Their Cup-winning goal against the Rangers came off a three-on-two rush, which Martinez started in his own zone. He led the rush and finished it off, beating Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist inside the left post, converting a rebound of a Tyler Toffoli shot.

Martinez, who started the season mired in the doghouse, had a look of joy and disbelief after he scored and Clifford was the first teammate he hugged. Talk about fitting: Martinez was the one responsible for the goal putting the Kings in the Stanley Cup Final, scoring the winner in overtime of Game 7 at Chicago.

"Toffoli had a great shot, far pad, and fortunately the rebound came to me and I was able to put it in," said Martinez, who was a healthy scratch for 10 of the first 15 games of the regular season. "It was a great play by them. I'm just the benefactor."

The NHL's postseason that absolutely refused to end almost willed itself to live for a few more days. Game 5 may have gotten off to a tepid start, but it picked up momentum late in the second period after former Kings forward Brian Boyle's short-handed goal gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 30 seconds left in the second.

Kings winger Marian Gaborik, a former Ranger, tied it, 2-2, at 7:56 of the third on the power play. Overtime between the teams featured nonstop, end-to-end action, an array of shots going off posts and crossbars at both ends.

Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh thought for a split second that he had the game won early in the first overtime. But his blast from above the left circle hit the right post square on Quick's glove side.

"We knew it was going be a tough series," Martinez said. "There were a lot of guys who have been around from a couple of years ago. We know the fourth one is definitely the hardest one to get. That's what we were talking about in the locker room. We just had to dig deep and just keep grinding away.

"We believed that we were going to win this game."

Not that there weren't a few questions along the way. The Kings trailed the San Jose Sharks, 3-0, in the first round of the playoffs and became only the fourth NHL team in history to rally from that deficit.

"There's no words that can describe what you're feeling right now," said Williams. "What we went through this year makes it so much more special. Each Cup is unique, but, God, we earned this one."

The second Stanley Cup was especially sweet for Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell, the oldest player on their roster. Mitchell was a big part of the 2012 run but didn't play last season because of knee surgeries.

"Of course there's always doubt," Mitchell said. "We've been through so many Game 7s and so many overtimes, that you have doubt.

"But it's also a galvanizing thing where you've done it before and you know you can do it again.

"To always win this way is nuts. But we'll take it."

Super Tuesday Stimulus Packages

As the deadline to file those income taxes passed, all those who filed it ahead of the deadline got the stimulus packages they were waiting for. Of course, I was treated to a few stimulus packages myself.

First off, the Dirtbags picked themselves up from the unfortunate series against Irvine, and roughhoused Pepperdine, 10-0. Earlier that day, Aldershot Town FC clinched promotion to the Football League, 16 years after being blasted off the face of the footballing world, drawing 1-1 with Exeter City. Also that day, the Lakers clinched the Western Conference #1 seed, beating the Sacramento Kings 124-101, the Avengers defeated the Blaze this week by the score of 79-62, the Angels defeated the Rangers 7-4, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals 4-2, the Los Angeles D-Fenders defeated the Colorado 14ers 102-95, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Boston Bruins, 1-0, to put the stranglehold on the series, as it goes back to the Bell Centre.

But what really got me feeling all chipper today was the Mighty Roos. Who are the Mighty Roos, you say? well, they are this hockey team from Australia, and they beat China, 1-0, to clinch the gold medal in their side of the world. Out there, it is winter by now, if not late autumn. And these guys are just a tournament away from qualifying for Vancouver 2010, and skating with the big boys!

Now, some of you may be thinking, wait a minute, how can Australia have a national ice hockey team, when they are known more for their summer sports? Well, ice hockey has been played in Australia for more than a century. It was in 1908 that the International Ice Hockey Federation was founded, and it was in 1908 that ice hockey was first played, in Adelaide, SA. So, the timing of the event, held down in Newcastle, NSW, couldn't have been any better.

One wonders if some disgruntled North American expatriates inject some fresh new blood into a team that is gaining a huge chuck of momentum after gaining the gold medal that eluded them before (they were second place to South Korea [yes, they DO have a hockey team there, too]). Remember Dale Begg-Smith? Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. He could have given Canada another mogul gold. Instead, due to logistics that were unfavorable to the ad master, he gave Australia Winter Olympics Gold Medal Number Three. Having the Mighty Roos qualify for Vancouver 2010 can only make the presence of Winter Olympic sport in Australia that much more significant, that much more credible, and that much more validated.

Congrats Australia. The world is watching you now.

3 April
Australia Win Gold With Perfect 1-0 Win

Australia is Number 1 in Division II Group B

By Peter Lambert, Ice Hockey Correspondent

No longer is ice hockey a novelty in Australia. A magic tournament ended with a fairy-tale ending, as the Mighty Roos Australian Senior Men’s Ice Hockey team closed down the Chinese national team 1 goal to nil in Newcastle, New South Wales Australia. The Aussies were perfect through the tournament, winning each of their five games in regulation time; their last two games in shut-outs, denying their opposition a single goal. Australian goalie Matt Ezzy was awarded ‘Best Goalie of Tournament’ for his feat in winning four games from four played, and allowing only four goals by him throughout the tournament.

China started out strong but almost immediately shortened their bench to their top six players. The Aussies held off the early assault, and then scored on their first opportunity.

Melbourne’s Lliam Webster poked his own rebound through the goal pads of China’s Yu Yang, with assists going to Andrew White and tournament MVP Greg Oddy.

From that point the Chinese never seemed like they had what they needed to win. Both teams hit the posts but the Aussies also won in that phantom category; 5 to 1 in the almost-goals.

Captain Anthony Wilson hold aloft the tournament winners plate as
IIHF Official Dr Hans Dobida presents him with his gold medal.

The Australian win means many thing, but the significance of happening on the Centenary of ice hockey in Australia, and the Centenary of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and on home soil made it a very special occasion for the capacity crowd. With volunteers and players included, rink management estimated an unprecedented 1200 people in the rink to witness the victory.

Veteran defenceman Tyler Lovering came out of retirement when he heard about the bid to host the tournament in Australia. Now he has a World Championship Gold Medal in his collection.

‘I had to work really hard to get back into the Australian team.

‘It’s been 10 years that I’ve played on this team.

‘We have a fantastic team of guys, I couldn’t be more proud.’

Team Manager Ross Noga was justifiably elated as he packed his players aboard their bus to head off and celebrate the milestone achievement.

‘100 years of ice hockey in Australia, 100 years of ice hockey of IIHF, you can’t beat this.

‘Here in Newcastle, in front of the home crowd. The crowd was fantastic with the hair colour, painted faces, the “Aussie Aussie Aussie” chants, the flags, it doesn’t get any better.’

The Australian team will break up after their celebrations on Monday, but with little chance for much rest as the Australian Ice Hockey League starts this coming weekend. All players in the Aussie squad belong to one of the eight clubs and may be back in training as soon as Tuesday.

The Australian ice hockey community is already buzzing with the challenge of competing with Division I countries. The task is a mammoth one but not one person involved will believe that it is impossible.