Lightning Break Tradition and Touch Prince of Wales Trophy
The Tampa Bay Lightning became the first team in years to touch the conference trophy. credits: Getty The Lightning won the Prince of Wales trophy as Eastern Conference champions, and dared to touch it — they kept the superstition five years ago, and lost the Stanley Cup Final to Chicago — after beating the Islanders, 2-1, on Anthony Cirelli’s overtime goal that bounced off the post, then Semyon Varlamov’s pad, and just over the line.
The Stars did not touch the Clarence Campbell Bowl when they won the West.
Also, the Stanley Cup Final is Tampa Bay against Dallas, in Edmonton, in September. And the Islanders’ title drought will extend into a 38th year.
In other hockey news, under the category of toxic masculinity, Brandon Prust, last seen being weirdly racist, waded into being weirdly misogynist with a potshot at Tuukka Rask’s decision to opt out of the NHL playoff bubble.
Prust still isn’t in Dustin Penner territory just yet, so maybe there’s still hope for him? Wait, he was responding to a tweet in which he was urged to “get your priorities right” and had it pointed out that “a game, as much as we love hockey, will never equal his beautiful children.”
Oh, well.