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2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Complete Week 6 Roundup

By Jack Weber |
Jun 25, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate after beating the New York Islanders 1-0 in game seven of the Stanley Cup Semifinals at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate after beating the New York Islanders 1-0 in game seven of the Stanley Cup Semifinals at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
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(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

A pair of teams who normally play in the same division will have the unique opportunity to compete against each other for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The last time we did this, we said there were still four different potential Stanley Cup Final match-ups, all being very real possibilities. Both Stanley Cup semi-final series were tied 2-2, after all.

Well, now we have our answer. The defending champs are heading back to the dance to defend their title. Their opponent will try to complete a Stanley Cup run that would challenge the 2011-12 LA Kings for the most stunning championship we’ve ever seen.

Before the puck drops in Tampa for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday, let’s get you caught up with how things wrapped up in the semi-finals.

Tampa Bay Lightning VS New York Islanders

For the second straight year, the New York Islanders were denied a trip to the Stanley Cup Final by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning made a statement in Game 5, handing the Islanders their most lopsided playoff defeat in franchise history with an 8-0 slaughter.

Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn each scored twice, and of course, Brayden Point scored yet again, extending his goal streak to eight games.

By the time the Bolts jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Game 6, they’d scored 12 unanswered goals in the series.

Yes, Point scored one of them, extending his streak to nine games.

But Jordan Eberle got the Isles on the board late in the second period, and then a beautiful shot from Scott Mayfield tied things up with just under nine minutes to go in the third.

Then just over a minute into overtime, Anthony Beauvillier picked off a brutal pass from Blake Coleman and beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to force Game 7.

That gave the Islanders a chance to avenge last year’s loss to the Lightning and bring the Stanley Cup Final to Nassau Coliseum one last time, but New York just couldn’t get anything going in Game 7. They were outshot 31-18, and a shorthanded goal by Yanni Gourde early in the second period was all Tampa Bay would need as Vasilevskiy recorded what had to be one of the easier shutouts of his career in a 1-0 win.

Point’s goal streak was snapped, but we doubt he cares too much. The Bolts are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final, where they will look to join the Pittsburgh Penguins (2015-16/2016-17) as the only teams to win back-to-back Cups in the salary cap era. (Not that Tampa Bay has much regard for the cap, of course.)

Robin Lehner (Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports)
Robin Lehner (Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports) /

Vegas Golden Knights VS Montreal Canadiens

Rest in peace, sweet West Division.

Yes, the West Division champs, the mighty Vegas Golden Knights, are done.

It’s a shame, isn’t it, Kings fans?

After winning four straight games against the Presidents’ Trophy champion Colorado Avalanche in the second round, the Golden Knights were supposed to steamroll the Montreal Canadiens, a team that finished 18th in the league standings in the regular season and was supposedly only in the final four because the North Division was terrible.

A lot of people were very sure about this.

The North may not have been the strongest division, but the whole “the North is a joke” narrative got seriously exaggerated. Montreal proved to be more than a worthy opponent for Vegas. Go ahead and continue dunking on the Toronto Maple Leafs for their latest playoff failure, but they won more games against the Canadiens than the Golden Knights did.

The Habs went into Vegas for a pivotal Game 5 and came away with an impressive 4-1 victory.

Despite Robin Lehner’s excellent Game 4 performance, head coach Pete DeBoer put Marc-Andre Fleury back in net for Game 5. Fleury allowed three goals on 25 shots in the loss, but he was hardly the Knights’ biggest problem. They were simply outplayed by a Canadiens team they were supposed to be far superior to.

Lehner was back in goal for Game 6 in Montreal. Alec Martinez scored his second goal of the series for Vegas to tie the game at 2-2 early in the third period.

That meant more overtime between these teams. All three games at Bell Centre in this series went to OT. This one didn’t last long, as Artturi Lehkonen buried a nice feed from Phillip Danault less than two minutes in to send the Canadiens to the Cup Final for the first time since 1993.

Whatever you think of the Golden Knights’ goaltending decisions in this series, it was really their offense that let them down. They didn’t score more than two goals in any of the series’ final five games. Their power play went 0-for-15 in the series. (The Habs have killed off 30 straight penalties dating back to Game 4 of their first-round series against the Maple Leafs.) Their top seven goal-scorers in the regular season — Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, Alex Tuch, William Karlsson, Chandler Stephenson, and Reilly Smith — combined for two goals in the series.

So much for nobody in the North Division knowing how to play defense.

Meanwhile, Canadiens rookie Cole Caufield broke out with four goals in the series, including this beauty from Game 6.

The Habs are the first Canadian team to play in the Stanley Cup Final since the 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks, and they’ll try to become the first Canadian team to win it since they did it in 1993.

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