By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
A lot of folks thought there would be a Vegas vs Tampa final for the Stanley Cup.
Well, they were half right.
The Lightning, the defending Cup winners from last season’s COVID bubble title, defeated the New York Islanders, 1-0, in a decisive game 7 in Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa’s Channelside district Friday.
The Golden Knights lost, 3-2, in overtime the night before.
But it won’t the Lightning against the Golden Knights for the Cup.
Instead, Tampa Bay will host an upstart Cinderella Montreal Canadiens team that defeated Toronto, Winnipeg and Vegas en route to reach the finals.
Here’s the schedule for the Cup.
Take a listen to Lightning radio announcer Dave Mishkin call the final seconds of game 7 tonight.
The lone game 7 goal was a shorthanded score by the Lightning’s Yanni Gourde.
With Montreal playing Tampa Bay in the Final, it’s the Stu Sternberg Stanley Cup championship. Sternberg, owner of the MLB Tampa Bay Rays, wants the Rays to play half their games in the Tampa Bay market and half in Montreal.
In Las Vegas sports Friday, the Las Vegas Aces lost, 90-89, to Minnesota in overtime.