Stanley Cup Final: Top moments from Lightning clinching Stanley Cup title

The Tampa Bay Lighting are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.

On Wednesday, the defending champion Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 to in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, securing their second consecutive title and third in franchise history.

Despite the reigning champion’s four-game playoff win streak coming to an end on Monday with the Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime win in Game 4, the Lightning came back in a big way with a shutout to end the series. 

Here are the top moments from Game 5:

The Lightning came out pumped up and ready to go, as the crowd inside Amalie Arena erupted as they took the ice.

And as soon as the puck dropped, the Bolts wasted no time getting physical with the Canadiens – headlocks and all. 

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Tensions were running high as the first period got underway. It was riddled with penalties and power plays right out of the gate. Less than three minutes into regulation, right wing Corey Perry took the first seat in the penalty box for the Canadiens for hooking Mathieu Joseph, followed by a two-minute penalty for Jan Rutta for cross checking Artturi Lehkonen.

The Lightning made another push on a power play at the end of the first, but Joseph couldn't connect with the net, and the first period ended scoreless. Montreal took four shots to the Lightning's 13.

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Early in the second period, Canadiens goalie Carey Price's defensive efforts continued to dazzle, saving two shots – one from Nikita Kucherov and another from Pat Maroon – within the first five minutes. 

However, Tampa Bay didn't let off the gas, and midway through the second, the Lightning took a 1-0 lead at the 6:33 mark when Ross Colton knocked it home on a beautiful setup from David Savard.

It was Colton's fourth goal in the playoffs, tying Montreal's Cole Caufield for the most goals among rookies this postseason and a Lightning record for most by a rookie in a single postseason.

Up by a goal as they entered the final period, the Lightning continued a strategy of being physical with Montreal, attacking the net at the start of the third. 

They came dangerously close to extending their lead on this blast by Ondrej Palat …

… but once again, Price continued to make one huge save after another for the Canadiens.

As the minutes ticked down, the Canadiens were looking for their first goal of the night, but it never came. Instead, Josh Anderson – who scored the game-winning goal for Montreal in Game 4 on Monday – left the ice after a gnarly collision with the Lightning's goal post. 

Montreal didn't have any tricks up its sleeve in Game 5 after narrowly avoiding a sweep on Monday, and as time ran out in regulation, and the Lightning held off the Canadiens, 1-0. 

This was the Lightning's third trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2015 and second win in two years, having won the title in 2020 in the NHL’s playoff bubble in Edmonton. But this time, Tampa Bay won the trophy in front of its home fans. Heading into Game 5, the Lighting were 15-2 this postseason when scoring first. 

Here's how the sports world reacted to the Bolts' win.

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