Can Tampa Bay Lightning 3-Peat as Stanley Cup Champions?

The Tampa Bay Lightning begin their postseason run at a rare three-peat. Winners of both the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup, they can cement themselves as a dynasty with a third-straight win this season.

They have a much tougher path this year, entering as the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division. They'll face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, followed by the winner of the Panthers/Capitals series in the second round. If they get past that gauntlet, they'll face the winner of the other side of the Eastern Conference bracket in the conference final which will give them a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

WynnBET has their odds set at +1000 (bet $100 to profit $1,000) to win their third-straight Stanley Cup.

Who is the Last Team to Win 3 Stanley Cups in a Row?

The last team to win three Stanley Cups in-a-row was the New York Islanders back in the early 1980's. In fact, they won four in-a-row from 1980-1983, directly after the Montreal Canadiens had a four-eat from 1976-1979.

The Canadiens are also the only team to ever win five Cups in-a-row, doing it from 1956-1960. Tampa Bay has a long way to go if they want to break that record. Spoiler alert: It's not happening.

With that being said, repeat winners aren't that rare in the NHL, with the Lightning becoming to second team to do it since 2010, after the Penguins pulled off the feat in 2016 and 2017. The Blackhawks also won three between the years 2010 and 2015.

It's certainly not impossible, but Tampa's path to a three-peat will certainly be a challenging one.

They're set as slight -105 underdogs to the Maple Leafs in the opening round.