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sports Wednesday 30 september 2020

Lightning lift Stanley Cup in capping NHL's marathon season

By JOHN WAWROW more battle-tested, with
AP Hockey Writer much of the same core still
Defenseman Ryan Mc- in place, and all too famil-
Donagh was preparing to iar with playoff setbacks.
answer one last question The Lightning lost Eastern
regarding the Tampa Bay Conference final appear-
Lightning's Stanley Cup ances — both in Game 7
championship when team- — in 2016 and 2018. Then
mates Nikita Kucherov and there was the unshakable
Alex Killorn crashed the memory of last year, when
room, putting an abrupt Tampa Bay ran away with
and celebratory end to the the regular-season title only
news conference."Who's to be swept by Columbus
next? Next question," Kuch- in the first round.
erov said, looking into the It was only fitting, Mc-
camera. Donagh said, that Colum-
With McDonagh stopping bus was the Lightning's first-
in mid-sentence, Killorn round opponent this year.
stepped behind the po- Tampa Bay not only won
dium and said, "We're not the series in five games, but
staying here all night, man." showed perseverance in
The wait for the Lightning opening the series needing
— and the NHL — was long five overtimes to pull out a
enough after Tampa Bay 3-2 win in the fourth-longest
clinched the Cup with a game in NHL history.
2-0 win in Game 6 against "I think that win, in itself, set
Dallas on Monday night in Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov (86) hoists the Stanley Cup after defeating the Dallas Stars us up for no matter what
Edmonton, Alberta. in the NHL Stanley Cup hockey finals, in Edmonton, Alberta, on Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. was going to be thrown at
Associated Press
The Lightning raised the us, we were going to find a
Cup 363 days after the first to win the Cup after the this one a lot, because this For now, the Lightning can way," McDonagh said.
puck was dropped on the month of June, the Light- one was a special one, and savor the moment and pre- They did it with captain
2019-20 season, and some ning also became the first a hard one to win." pare to finally be reunited Steven Stamkos limited to
6 1/2 months after hockey to win 18 playoff games, While the Lightning trav- with their family and friends. playing just two minutes
was put on pause due to including two in a prelimi- eled home to prepare for a "It takes a lot to be in a bub- and 47 seconds while miss-
the coronavirus pandemic. nary round seeding series, fan rally and boat parade ble for 80 days or whatever ing the rest of the playoffs
"We knew what we were as opposed to the stan- along the Hillsborough River long it was," said playoff with a core muscle injury.
capable of with our whole dard 16. And they did so set for Wednesday, the NHL MVP Victor Hedman. "But And they overcame lead-
roster, and we were pretty while spending 65 days in turns its attention to next it's all worth it now." ing goal-scorer Brayden
thankful to get the oppor- the NHL bubble, starting in week, when the two-day The experienced and Point missing two games
tunity to come back and Toronto before relocating draft — to be conducted deep Lightning made Stars (both losses) with an undis-
play," McDonagh said. to Edmonton for the con- remotely — opens on Oct. coach Rick Bowness' pre- closed injury. The Lightning
"Right from Day 1, we were ference finals. 6, followed by the start of series comments prescient. never lost two straight, and
focused and dialed in on a "Obviously, we can go free agency three days lat- Bowness, a former Tampa enjoyed a few blowout
mission. And now, we can back and look at what's er. It remains unclear when Bay assistant, noted how victories, including 8-2 and
say mission accomplished." going on in the world now," the 2020-21 season will the Lightning "weren't quite 7-1 routs over Boston and
The Lightning's title, their said Maroon, who won the open, either in December ready to win" in 2015 in los- the Islanders. More impor-
second after winning in Cup last year with St. Louis. or early January, though ing the final to Chicago in tant, Tampa Bay was 12-3
2004, was historic. "I think a lot of us are going the plan is to squeeze in a six games. in games decided by one
In becoming the first team to sit back and talk about full 82-game schedule. This year's team proved far goal.q

Osterman crowned first Athletes Unlimited softball champion

By CLIFF BRUNT for a chance to play in the of the top players in the
AP Sports Writer Olympics. She valued the world, including 19 Olympi-
Team USA pitcher Cat Os- chance to get high-level ans from the United States,
terman is the first Athletes competition again, espe- Canada, Mexico and Ita-
Unlimited softball cham- cially during a pandemic. ly. Haylie McCleney was
pion. The league crowned And she appreciated the named Defensive Player of
her its individual champion chance to re-connect with the Year. She was chosen
Monday based on points the players and fans; all 30 by a vote that included the
scored in games played games were broadcast or players.
during a five-week sea- streamed through various With the Olympics being
son played in a bubble at partners. pushed back to 2021 be- Players for Athletes Unlimited practice on Wednesday, Sept. 16,
a sports complex in Rose- "I think this was an incred- cause of the pandemic, 2020, in Rosemont, Ill.
mont, Illinois. The 37-year- ibly important opportunity the league provided an Associated Press
old left-hander compiled for not only us athletes, but opportunity for players to
2,408 points, followed by also giving the fans a sense keep their skills sharp. The 'OK, we have to figure out keep ourselves going.' This
Jessica Warren, Victo- of normal, being able to league said Tuesday it will a way to be a part of Ath- filled a void in training and
ria Hayward and Erika Pi- watch their favorite ath- return next year. letes Unlimited," Osterman mentally as far as being
ancastelli. Osterman retired letes play," she said. "As soon as we got de- said. "'We have to figure able to get on the field and
in 2015 and returned in 2018 The league featured 57 layed, all of us were like, how to do something to feel normal again."q