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UPDATE: The Lightning have done it! Tampa Bay beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Wednesday to win Game and finish the series 4-1. The Lightning become the 17th team in NHL history to win at least two consecutive Stanley Cup Trophies. They’re the first team to do it since the Pittsburgh Penguins won it all in 2016 and again in 2017.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are headed back to the Stanley Cup Final with a chance to repeat as champions of the NHL. The Lightning defeated the New York Islanders on Friday night, winning Game 7 by a final score of 1-0. The Lightning head back to the Final a year removed from beating the Dallas Stars in six games during the NHL’s bubble postseason.
Tampa Bay is attempting to become the first team to repeat as champions since the Penguins won it all in 2015-16 and 2016-17. The last repeat champ prior to that was the Red Wings, who won the Stanley Cup in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
The NHL has a long history of dynastic teams claiming multiple titles. There have been 16 franchises that have won at least two championships in a row. The Canadiens have been the most dominant of the group, winning at least two straight titles five times. The Red Wings follows with three such occurrences. The Penguins, Oilers, and Maple Leafs follow with two each, and the Flyers and Islanders each have one such accomplishment. It’s worth noting the Islanders won four straight titles when they did it from 1980 to 1983.
Here’s a full list of franchises that have won at least two straight Stanley Cup titles dating back to 1927.
2016-2017: Pittsburgh Penguins
1997-1998: Detroit Red Wings
1991-1992: Pittsburgh Penguins
1987-1988: Edmonton Oilers
1984-1985: Edmonton Oilers
1980-1983: New York Islanders
1976-1979: Montreal Canadiens
1974-1975: Philadelphia Flyers
1968-1969: Montreal Canadiens
1965-1966: Montreal Canadiens
1962-1964: Toronto Maple Leafs
1956-1960: Montreal Canadiens
1954-1955: Detroit Red Wings
1947-1949: Toronto Maple Leafs
1936-1937: Detroit Red Wings
1930-1931: Montreal Canadiens