Even though the Tampa Bay Lightning already played 10 home games this season they had not yet raised their 2019-20 Stanley Cup banner to the rafters.
They made the choice to not do so until at least some fans were allowed to attend games.
They had the opportunity on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators.
Before puck drop the Lightning officially raised their second Stanley Cup banner (joining the 2004 championship) to officially complete the celebration of their 2020 championship.
You can see the banner raising ceremony in the video above.
So far this season the Lightning have once again been one of the best teams in the NHL and entered Saturday’s game with the best points percentage (.760) in the NHL. They have done so even though they have played the entire season without Nikita Kucherov, their top offensive player.
The Lightning won the 2020 Stanley Cup by defeating the Dallas Stars in six games. That win gave this core the championship it had been lacking after years of postseason frustration, close calls, and near misses. Between the 2014-15 and 2018-19 seasons the Lightning had lost a Stanley Cup Final and lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals two other times. No team has won more regular season or playoff games than the Lightning since the start of the 2014-15 season.
The Lightning beat the Predators 6-3 on Saturday night.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.
