When Was the Last Time the Tampa Bay Lightning Won the Stanley Cup?

The Tampa Bay Lightning are still one of the newer teams in the NHL despite their 29 seasons in the league. It took them some time to get up and going, but the Lightning eventually became one of the more dominant teams in the NHL. 

Tampa Bay kicks off their opening-round tilt with the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at the Scotiabank Arena in Ontario. The current odds at WynnBET Sportsbook have the Lightning -105 to move past Toronto in the opening round. But, before we look ahead to that series, let’s take a look back at the Lightning’s history in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

When Was the Lightning’s Last Stanley Cup Win?

It’s safe to say that nobody was worried about the Lightning for the first two decades of their existence as a franchise. Between 1993 and 2014, the Lightning only twice made it out of the first round of the playoffs. They did manage to win it all in 2004 to be fair, but they only made the playoffs seven times during their first 20 years. They won three total rounds in that span aside from their surprising win in ‘04. 

But, things started to really turn around for the Franchise in 2014. Despite losing in the opening round that year, the Lightning became a perennial contender from that point on. They lost in the Finals in 2015 but are coming off back-to-back wins in 2020 and 2021. So, the last win by this team was not long ago at all. But I am sure they are itching for the first three-peat in the NHL since the Rangers won four in a row back in 1980-83. 

Will the Lightning make it three in a row? Or is a first round exit looming?

Tampa Bay Lightning’s Odds to win the 2022 Stanley Cup

Despite winning the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row, the Lightning are the fifth-ranked team on the odds board to go for three. At +900, they are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes. Their odds to become the Eastern Conference Champions for the third year in a row are +450. 

Tampa Bay finished the season strong with a 7-2 record over their final nine games. In that span, the Lightning’s most significant win was an 8-1 dismantling of the Maple Leafs. It was the last game the two would play before tonight’s Game 1.