NHL Stanley Cup Final 2020: Stars vs. Lightning Recap, Stats, Highlights, More

The Tampa Bay Lightning captured their second championship in franchise history by prevailing over the Dallas Stars in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

Tampa Bay closed out the series on Monday night and proceeded to skate around an empty Rogers Place in Edmonton with one of the most iconic trophies in sports. It was a unique scene to cap an unprecedented season that was split into two parts by the coronavirus pandemic.

Let's look back at the scores from each game in the six-game series and the top scorers for each side. That's followed by a final look back at this year's Cup Final.

Game-by-Game Results

Game 1: 4-1 Stars

Game 2: 3-2 Lightning

Game 3: 5-2 Lightning

Game 4: 5-4 Lightning (OT)

Game 5: 3-2 Stars (2OT)

Game 6: 2-0 Lightning

Key Series Stats

Lightning

Nikita Kucherov: 8 points (1 G, 7 A)

Brayden Point: 8 points (5 G, 3 A)

Victor Hedman: 7 points (1 G, 6 A)

Ondrej Palat: 5 points (3 G, 2 A)

Kevin Shattenkirk: 4 points (2 G, 2 A)

Andrei Vasilevskiy: 2.14 GAA, .911 SV%

Stars

Joe Pavelski: 5 points (4 G, 1 A)

Tyler Seguin: 5 points (0 G, 5 A)

John Klingberg: 5 points (1 G, 4 A)

Alexander Radulov: 4 points (0 G, 4 A)

Miro Heiskanen: 4 points (1 G, 3 A)

Anton Khudobin: 2.90 GAA, .910 SV%

Stanley Cup Final Recap

The Lightning were the preseason favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Despite injuries, including one to captain Steven Stamkos that limited him to just five shifts in the Final, and the unparalleled season amid COVID-19, they delivered on those sky-high expectations.

Scoring 18 goals in a series when Stamkos was such a limited contributor—he did score in his only appearance—highlighted the Bolts' terrific offensive depth. Vasilevskiy came up huge in the clincher, stopping all 22 shots sent his way for the series-ending shutout.

The Game 6 performance continued a trend from Tampa's entire time in the bubble. It didn't lose back-to-back games at any point during the seeding games or its entire postseason run. By contrast, it had three winning streaks of at least three games, including one run of six straight wins.

"Probably in my 11 years, that was the most complete game we've ever played," Hedman told reporters about Game 6.

Tampa's scoring in the series finale was fitting of what the Lightning did all season.

The opening goal was scored by Point, who found the net 14 times in the playoffs, with assists from Kucherov and Hedman to showcase the team's star power. The second goal came courtesy Blake Coleman with helpers from Cedric Paquette and Patrick Maroon, highlighting its depth.

In the end, the Stars couldn't keep up with that type of offensive output. Several of Dallas' key contributors, including Seguin and Radulov, didn't find the net in the Final, and Jamie Benn recorded just a single assist across the six games.

It was no secret Dallas needed to improve its play after advancing to the championship series despite a negative goal differential in the playoffs. The 4-1 win in the series opener was a sign of hope for the underdogs, but it wasn't sustainable.

"I'm proud of our players. They gave us everything they could," Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. "Was there enough in the tank tonight? No, there wasn't. But it was a credit to our players to get to Game 6."

So, in a season that included several twists and turns along with a hiatus that lasted over four months, the Stanley Cup was raised by the team viewed as the favorite from the beginning.