In a tight, tight game last night, Tampa Bay prevailed over Montreal 1-0 to win the Stanley Cup!  Tampa Bay won the series 4 games to 1, and successfully defended their Stanley Cup championship from last year.  The only goal of the game was scored by Ross Colton, 13:27 into the second period.  Both Carey Price and Andrei Vasilevskiy looked solid in net, but Montreal couldn’t get the puck past Vasilevskiy, who recorded his fifth shutout of the playoffs, earning himself the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

That’s it for the McDonald NHL Power Ratings for this year — we’ll see you in August when we release our first McDonald CFL Power Ratings, as the CFL is set to kick off their shortened season on August 5th!

Yesterday’s Game

Stanley Cup Final

Montreal 0 at Tampa Bay 1

• Tampa Bay wins series 4-1

Series schedule:

• Monday, June 28: Montreal 1 at Tampa Bay 5
• Wednesday, June 30: Montreal 1 at Tampa Bay 3
• Friday, July 2: Tampa Bay 6 at Montreal 3
• Monday, July 5: Tampa Bay 2 at Montreal 3 (OT)
• Wednesday, July 7: Montreal 0 at Tampa Bay 1

Playoff Matchup – Stanley Cup Finals

Tampa Bay (3rd in Central, 75 pts) vs. Montreal (4th in North, 59 pts)

Tampa Bay wins series 4-1

McDonald NHL Power Ratings:

• Tampa Bay: 1581
• Montreal: 1544

Playoffs so far:

• Tampa Bay:
  • First round: Defeated Florida in 6 games
  • Division final: Defeated Carolina in 5 games
  • Semi-Final: Defeated New York Islanders in 7 games
• Montreal:
  • First round: Defeated Toronto in 7 games
  • Division final: Defeated Winnipeg in 4 games
  • Semi-Final: Defeated Vegas in 6 games

Series schedule:

• Monday, June 28: Montreal 1 at Tampa Bay 5
• Wednesday, June 30: Montreal 1 at Tampa Bay 3
• Friday, July 2: Tampa Bay 6 at Montreal 3
• Monday, July 5: Tampa Bay 2 at Montreal 3 (OT)
• Wednesday, July 7: Montreal 0 at Tampa Bay 1