66º

INSIDER

JON COOPER

Bucs, Lightning, Rays transform Tampa Bay into Titletown

Many partied while defying a local order mandating masks even be worn outdoors during Super Bowl week, and drawing sharp criticism from some public officials. The Lightning won the Stanley Cup and the Rays went to the World Series. Those guys had our backs throughout the season, both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Lightning. They were rooting us on.”AdSome of the Lightning players wore Bucs jerseys on the team’s flight to Nashville, too. “We try to watch the Super Bowl every year.

NHL training camps open with sense of urgency

It was the first day of training camp for Laviolette and the Washington Capitals and most of the NHL. Camps are now open for the league's 31 teams and they will last just 10 days. Columbus coach John Tortorella said he'd emphasize a major point to players about how to approach training and playing this season: “There is no complaining about anything." “Most players would argue that camps are a little bit long anyway," Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “I’ve been told from our team and from the league, when a player is not on the ice during training camp, we’re supposed to say he’s not available today,” Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said.

Tampa Bay takes momentum into back-to-back Cup games

After consecutive games with three-goal periods, Tampa Bay has all of the momentum and a 2-1 series lead. Dallas' top line is without a goal against Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay then went ahead in Game 3 with two goals in an 85-second span before three goals in the second period of a 5-2 win. The NHL is playing Stanley Cup Final games on back-to-back nights for the first time since 2009, when Detroit won each of the first two games against Pittsburgh, which eventually won the series in seven games. In its only back-to-back this postseason, Tampa Bay won Games 2 and 3 in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against Boston.

'Hit ‘em!’: Stars hammer Tampa 4-1 to open Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON, AB – Dallas Stars players on the bench yelled at their teammates, “Hit ’em!” They did, over and over, the body checks and the shouts easily heard throughout an arena left empty because of the pandemic for this most unusual Stanley Cup Final. The Stars, who grinded their way through the playoffs with tight-checking toughness, came out hitting, knowing the Lightning are not fully healthy. Defenseman Esa Lindell also got into the action early with Point, cross-checking him and leveling him in open ice. Dallas is trying for its first title since 1999 and Tampa Bay since 2004, though this Lightning core reached the final in 2015. General manager Julien BriseBois on Friday ruled out Stamkos for Game 1 but left open the possibility he could play this series.

Stars, Lightning meet in nontraditional Stanley Cup Final

EDMONTON, AB – The leaves are starting to change color around the NHL playoff bubble, and, at most, seven games remain before the Stanley Cup is handed out. On Saturday night, two of the league's southernmost teams begin a Stanley Cup Final like none other in the great white north when the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning face off in Game 1. “This is unlike any other Stanley Cup final where we’d get days rest,” coach Jon Cooper said. Some things to watch in the Dallas-Tampa Bay Stanley Cup Final:RUSSIAN GOALIESIt's the first time in NHL history that the final features two Russian starting goaltenders. Nikolai Khabibulin is the only Russian goalie to win the Stanley Cup when he did so with Tampa Bay in 2004.

Sunday in the parks: The playoffs, NFL, a no-hitter and more

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates his touchdown with offensive tackle Donovan Smith (76) in the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. The NFL roared back to life, even if the roar was from fans who weren’t in the stadiums. For the first time since Jan. 1, 2000 — when he was a senior at Michigan — Tom Brady played a football game in something other than a New England Patriots helmet. “I know how much comes along with that,” Cubs manager David Ross said after the second no-hitter of the season. That’s a special day for us, a special day for Alec Mills.

Unique circumstances give NHLs its first Final Four

Welcome to the NHL's first Final Four.Because of the unique circumstances of the Stanley Cup playoffs amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Eastern and Western Conference finals are taking place in the same city, giving it a feel like college basketball's signature event, even though games are being played in an empty arena. The end goal of winning a title is the same, but the Lightning, Golden Knights, Stars and New York Islanders will always be able to say they made hockey's 2020 final four. When we started this, we said lets play one series at a time and lets see if we can get to Edmonton, Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. You have to celebrate the moments because those moments don't come by very much. Its nice to see it live when you can, Stars coach Rick Bowness said.

Familiarity breeds respect among NHL East playoff teams

TORONTO, ONT Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took exception to the Columbus Blue Jackets being referred to as a blue-collar team. Is that a positive or a negative? Cooper said Monday, a day before his Eastern Conference second-seeded Lightning open the first round of the NHL playoffs against the seventh-seeded Blue Jackets. Thats in the history books forever, Cooper said, noting how both teams have made various changes to their lineups. Id call them a really good team.Familiarity is breeding respect among the East opponents entering the first round. The Islanders hold a 5-2 playoff series edge over Washington.