On Sept. 17, 2019 the Tampa Bay Lightning played their first pre-season game and dropped a 3-0 decision to Carolina. Exactly one year later, they punched their ticket to a Stanley Cup Final that will bring to an end that same 2019-20 season.
It’s been a strange and wild season that we didn’t always think would be able to get finished, but the Lightning and Dallas Stars have outlasted everyone and are the final two teams standing. No one will ever forget this historic 2019-20 season that will end without fans inside a bubble, and that’s what could also make this the hardest final ever to lose.
By the time the puck drops on Game 1, these two teams will have been separated from the outside world for 55 days, dating back to the end of July when the return to play plan came to fruition. It’s been a grind for more reasons than usual and now everything is on the line.
Tampa Bay arrives in the final as a long-held favourite, while Dallas is a bit more of a surprise, though they qualified as one of the top four teams in the West. Here’s a preview of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on Sportsnet NOW.
How the Dallas Stars got to the Stanley Cup Final: Although they were the West’s No. 3 seed after the round robin, Dallas has been regarded as something of an underdog for this run. Their backup goalie, Anton Khudobin, has started nearly every game with Ben Bishop “unfit to play.” The Stars had the 26th-ranked offence in the regular season, and if the return to play order was determined by standings points instead of points percentage, they would have had to go through the qualifying round.
The Stars advanced past the Calgary Flames in six games and then met a Colorado Avalanche team that was among the favourites to win it all. While defence was supposed to be Dallas’ strength, and generating offence a weakness, they managed to outlast the Avs in a high-scoring, seven-game slugfest in which the Stars were actually outscored 29-28. Dallas may have benefitted from the fact Colorado was also without its starting netminder, but it was the second series in a row that Dallas averaged over three goals per game.
Heading into the conference final, Dallas was the second-highest scoring team in the playoffs behind only Colorado, which was one of the more surprising developments out of Rounds 1 and 2. But there they met a tougher defensive team in the Vegas Golden Knights, and the best goalie they had seen all playoffs in Robin Lehner. Dallas’ goal output slowed, but Khudobin was spectacular and the advantage he gave the Stars was enough to lift them to a five-game series win that whipped past quicker than anyone anticipated.
But how surprised should we really be by this Stars team? In 2019, Dallas took the eventual Cup champion St. Louis Blues to Game 7 overtime in Round 2, and were a goal line save away from eliminating them. The Jamie Benn–Tyler Seguin–Alexander Radulov trio are the headline names, but this roster is all about depth and a variety of different skill sets. Defenceman Miro Heiskanen is averaging over 25 minutes a game and is a Conn Smythe candidate with 22 points in 21 playoff games. Joe Pavelski, an off-season free agent acquisition, leads Dallas in goals with nine, tied with 23-year-old Denis Gurianov, who is a playoff rookie. Roope Hintz and Radek Faska are highly valuable third line contributors, although Faska’s health status is up in the air. John Klingberg is another star defenceman who can make someone like Esa Lindell fly under the radar. Joel Kiviranta has come out of nowhere with four goals in eight games.
All this is to say: there is a lot to like personnel-wise in Dallas and they all are completely bought into a defensive system first implemented by former coach Jim Montgomery and continued by Rick Bowness. As respected as the Stars were as a defensive team before this run, they’ve proven they can keep up in a track meet with more offensively dynamic teams as well.
How the Tampa Bay Lightning got to the Stanley Cup Final: A popular pick to win the Cup at the start of all this, the Lightning were the East’s No. 2 seed after the round robin and have taken a fairly quick route to the final.
After being swept out in Round 1 of the 2019 playoffs by Columbus, Tampa was challenged right away in 2020 with a rematch against those same Blue Jackets. An historic 5OT win in Game 1’s “August Epic” set the tone for a tightly contested series in which each game but one was decided by a single goal. But the Lightning rebounded from last year’s disappointment and proved their playoff mettle by turning that into a short five-game win.
Round 2 brought another familiar opponent in division rival Boston who didn’t show particularly well in the round robin and had Jaroslav Halak in net after Tuukka Rask had to leave the bubble. Tampa dropped Game 1, though, and faced their first trial of adversity in a Game 2 that was forced to overtime when Brad Marchand scored late in regulation. It was a key moment and had the Lightning dropped the first two games against the Bruins, perhaps we’re writing about a different team right now. But Ondrej Palat‘s winner gave the Lightning a second wind, and they followed up with wins in Games 3 and 4 as well by a combined 10-2 score. Palat’s goal was the turning point, and the Lightning advanced in another five-game series.
The conference final was the longest series Tampa has seen so far, and it was clearly advantageous for them to be so well-rested in Game 1. With the Islanders playing on short rest following a seven-game Round 2 series, the Lightning blew them away 8-2 in Game 1 and seemed on the way to another quick win. But the Islanders were much more themselves the rest of the way — tough on defence and not letting Lightning scorers get many quality opportunities.
The two teams exchanged wins in Games 2, 3 and 4, leaving Tampa with a 3-1 series lead and on the doorstep of the final. The Islanders, not going quietly, forced the final two games to overtime — Jordan Eberle scored in the second OT period in Game 5 and Anthony Cirelli‘s winner in Game 6 moved Tampa to the final. Though the Lightning had reached Round 3 four times in the past six years, this is their first shot at the Cup since 2015, when a younger core lost in six games to Chicago.
The Lightning are catching no one by surprise being here. A big favourite, Tampa has stars at every position. Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, Victor Hedman on the blue line and Nikita Kucherov on forward, all of whom are award contenders each season. Cirelli is an emerging two-way force and Brayden Point has become one of the better centres in the league. And heck, they’ve lasted through this whole run without having Steven Stamkos for a single game.
Dallas Stars X-Factor: Joe Pavelski
This series reminds us of the Dallas-Colorado matchup in Round 2. Like Colorado, the Lightning can score a bunch and are led by a super first line. Tampa’s defence can play big and move the puck well. But unlike the Avs, the Lightning still have a healthy starting goalie and that will make it a challenge for the Stars to keep up on offence this time.
If there is one place the Stars could have a leg up on Tampa, it’s on the second line. The Lightning’s second unit has three minus players on it. When Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn have been on the ice, Tampa has controlled less than half the shots on goal at 5-on-5, and only one other Lightning player (Cedric Paquette) is under 50 per cent.
With that in mind, Pavelski could be a big difference maker if he keeps the goal scoring up. After scoring just 14 times all season, Pavelski leads Dallas with nine goals in 21 post-season games from the second line. On Pavelski’s flank is Gurianov, who also has nine goals. Dallas’ top line will need to provide some level of offence and if the second unit can outdo their counterparts in Tampa it might just be a key to success. If this is going to be a close series, a clutch goal or two will be required and playoff veteran Pavelski is a good bet to play that role.
Tampa Bay Lightning X-Factor: Brayden Point
How healthy is Tampa’s top centre and how impactful can he be in the final? Point has been a beast for the Lightning so far with 25 points in 17 games and averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. When he’s in the lineup Tampa has been near unbeatable, winning 11 of the past 12 games he’s played. But an apparent lower-body injury forced him out of Games 3 and 5 against New York, both Lightning losses.
Point did return for Game 6 and wasn’t held back, playing over 25 minutes with four shots and four blocks. It will be a quick turnaround for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday, though, and the Lightning need Point at full gear for the duration, especially if Stamkos remains out. With a strong finish to this run, Point could come out as the Conn Smythe winner.
#GoBolts Victor Hedman ties record for the most goals by a defenceman prior to the Stanley Cup Final.
Paul Coffey also had 9 goals before the 1985 Final.
Dallas will win if… Khudobin wins the goalie battle The Stars’ playoff starter had a .950 save percentage against Vegas in the conference final, but was scored on 23 times in the Colorado series. Against those Avs the Stars faced a backup goalie, just as they did against Calgary and Cam Talbot. Now they’re up against one of the league’s best in Vasilevskiy who has a .931 save percentage and minuscule 1.82 GAA this post-season. Vasilevskiy has allowed more than two goals just once in his past nine games. Khudobin will be under fire at times and can’t falter, because the goalie at the other end won’t give Dallas any breaks.
Tampa will win if… their offence dictates the series
In the Western Conference Final, Dallas was mostly outchanced by Vegas and controlled just 41 per cent of the high danger chances through the series. Vegas converted on less than five per cent of its shots, though, which Peter DeBoer chalked up to being rattled by Thatcher Demoko in Round 2. This series could go much the same way, with Tampa controlling shots and Dallas attempting to keep as many of them to the outside as possible. But they can’t rely on their opponent having a low shooting percentage this time. The Lightning had the best offence all season long and if given enough opportunity, they won’t fail now.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.
The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.
Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.
Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.
The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
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CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.
Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.
Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.
It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.
Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.
Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.
It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.
Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.
With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.
The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.
The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.
An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”
Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.
There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.
“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.
Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.
“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”
Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.
“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.
“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”
The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).
The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.
Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).
The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.
To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.
“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”
A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.
The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.
“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)
Wednesday, Providence Park
HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.
ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.
POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.
Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.
The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.
There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.
The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.
It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.
“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.
Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.
More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”
Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.
