Lightning vs. Blackhawks: Game 6 Score and Reaction from 2015 Stanley Cup Final

For the third time in the past six years and the sixth instance in their history, the Chicago Blackhawks won Lord Stanley's Cup, this time defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. 

It was extra sweet for the Blackhawks to win it in Chicago's United Center, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted Monday:

"

The #Blackhawks win their 1st Stanley Cup in front of hometown fans in Chicago for 1st time since 1938

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 16, 2015"

It's hard to ignore just how special this team has been in the past six years. Pierre LeBrun of ESPN summed it up nicely:

The Blackhawks certainly had to be dominant, as they faced some seriously stiff competition, per ESPN Stats & Information:

They also won with class in the end. One of the enduring moments of their championship celebration will always be Jonathan Toews handing off the Cup to Kimmo Timonen first in one very simple but profound gesture, as noted by Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

More than a few folks around the NHL were happy to see the 40-year-old Timonen—who is retiring after this year and has suffered from blood clots in the past, which nearly ended his career—hoist the Cup.

"I'm leaving this game as a Stanley Cup champion," he said on the NBC broadcast of the postgame celebration. 

Patrick Kane, whom Tampa held to a single assist coming into Game 6, was one of the heroes Monday, as he assisted on Duncan Keith's go-ahead goal in the second period and clinched the contest with his first goal of the series in the third period. Keith went on to earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

This series was so competitive and evenly matched that Kane's tally and Chicago's 2-0 lead was the first margin of more than one goal in the entire series. As Sportsnet Stars noted, it was a supreme defensive battle as well: 

Corey Crawford, whom coach Joel Quenneville benched earlier in the postseason, also came up huge for the Blackhawks, stopping all 25 shots the Lightning managed to put on goal. Ben Bishop played well for the Lightning, stopping 32 of 34 shots, but his valiant effort wasn't enough to stop the Blackhawks' onslaught.

Keith followed his own shot on the rush and scooped up the rebound to score what would ultimately be the game-winning goal in the second period. NHL.com passed it along below:

From there, it was Kane finally putting his name in the goals column that broke Tampa Bay's back:

It was an impressive finish, surely, but as Craig Custance noted, it was Brad Richards' pass that was truly impressive:

While the Blackhawks celebrate, the Lightning look to the future. Tampa has a young team that should return largely intact next season, and it gave the Blackhawks all they could handle and then some. The Lightning should be a force to be reckoned with over the next several years.

They were dealing with two serious injuries, per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times:

But on this night, the Blackhawks dynasty was officially coronated. And finally, after years of waiting, it happened in Chicago.