The Tampa Bay Lightning won their second Stanley Cup in just over nine months, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 to claim back-to-back titles in seasons that were bunched together by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Playing on home ice at Amalie Arena, the Lightning toned down their electric style to match the persistent, grinding play of the Canadiens to win Game 5 and take the series 4-1. The sole goal of the night came from winger Ross Colton just over six minutes into the second period, as he poked a pass from Ryan McDonagh around the back of Montreal goaltender Carey Price.

Wednesday’s victory makes it clear that no team weathered the pandemic and its ensuing schedule disruptions better than Tampa Bay. Last fall, the Lighting outlasted the expanded 24-team field in the NHL’s Canada-based playoff bubbles to win their first Stanley Cup since 2004. 

In 2021, they repeated to become the fastest team ever to bag consecutive titles, doing so by a margin of nearly three months. 

The 2021 Stanley Cup Final featured two franchises playing unfamiliar roles. Montreal, the most decorated franchise in NHL history, were cast in the role of Cinderella. Aiming to take home their first Stanley Cup since 1993—the last time any team from Canada won the title—the Habs made it to the championship series after barely squeaking into the playoffs as the last seed in the weakest division. 

Tampa Bay was the young villain, a 1992 expansion franchise from Florida on a season-long victory lap.

The series turned on goaltending, as both teams featured a nominee for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best goaltender in the NHL. The Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevsky and Montreal’s Price both rode stellar save percentages en route to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate their series win over the Montreal Canadiens.

The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate their series win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Photo: Gerry Broome/Associated Press

In the 2021 playoffs, Vasilevsky improved on his stellar .927 save percentage from last postseason to .936 heading into the championship series. The Canadiens had Price, a 33-year-old veteran who awoke from a multi-year slump to string together a .934 save percentage during that span.

But once the teams met, Tampa Bay’s versatile scoring attack proved too much for Price. Through Game 3, the defending champions averaged 4.67 goals per game. Price’s save percentage plummeted to .835—worse than he’s ever been in his 10 postseason appearances. He fared slightly better in the next two games, recovering to .953.

Vasilevsky, meanwhile, became the first goalie since the 1970s to win back-to-back Conn Smythe Trophies, awarded to the most valuable player of the playoffs.

It wasn’t until Monday night, facing a possible Lightning sweep, that Montreal solved the Lightning’s slapshot onslaught. The Canadiens did this largely by knocking around stars Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, whose 32 and 23 postseason points, respectively, are the most in the NHL.

Tampa Bay fell back on its depth to send Game 4 at Montreal’s Bell Centre to overtime. Barclay Goodrow scored the first equalizing goal to preserve the Lightning’s bid for a sweep late in the second period. Pat Maroon, a fourth-line skater known better for taking up space than sharp shooting, later tied the game at two by lurking near the goalpost.

The Lightning’s third and fourth liners once again carried the day on Wednesday. Blake Coleman, a third liner, and Maroon had four shots apiece, second most on the team behind Kucherov’s five. Colton scored off the second line, a promotion he only received midway through the series after Alex Killorn suffered a lower body injury in Game 1.

The Lightning also turned one of Montreal’s biggest strengths this postseason—its penalty kill—into a glaring weakness. Heading into the Stanley Cup Final, the Canadiens had held opponents scoreless on 43 of their last 46 power plays, including a run of 30 in a row without a goal. 

Tampa Bay snapped that streak in Game 1, when Steven Stamkos scored his team’s fifth goal with just over a minute to go in the third period. It was a rather unsurprising development for a team whose 33.9% power play percentage is third best among postseason teams. 

On Wednesday night, the Lightning overwhelmed the Canadiens further on special teams. Montreal managed zero shots on its first three power plays; Tampa Bay got off three shots on goal while short-handed. The Lightning also killed three penalties.

Tampa Bay entered the 2021 postseason as the third seed in the top-heavy Central Division. They drew the Florida Panthers, who had defeated Tampa in three of their last four meetings, for the first-ever playoff Battle for the Sunshine State. Those regular season losses, however, came with Kucherov and Stamkos sidelined. With both skaters back on the ice for the playoffs, the Lightning cruised to victory in six games.

The Lightning’s Ross Colton beats Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price to score in Game 5.

The Lightning’s Ross Colton beats Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price to score in Game 5.

Photo: Dirk Shadd/Zuma Press

Next came the Carolina Hurricanes, one of the first franchises to allow full capacity at playoff games. The Lightning silenced their opponents’ rocking barn in Raleigh, N.C., in five games.

More raucous fans awaited in the Stanley Cup Semifinal against the New York Islanders, a team playing its final season at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and fighting to extend their beloved venue’s life span. The Isles took the defending champions the distance–the first time the Lightning needed seven games to advance in a playoff series since the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals.

And by hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup on Wednesday night, Tampa Bay cemented itself as the new title town of professional sports. In addition to the Lightning’s back-to-back championships, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first NFL team to win the Super Bowl in their home stadium in February. The Tampa Bay Rays also made it all the way to the 2020 World Series before falling in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Write to Laine Higgins at laine.higgins@wsj.com