Notes and Quotes – Stanley Cup Final Game 6 on NBC

Lightning Capture Franchise’s Second Stanley Cup with 2-0 Victory Against Dallas Stars in Game 6

“Incredible theater and incredible entertainment… The Tampa Bay Lightning were on a mission, no doubt about it.” – Eddie Olczyk

“He only played part of one period dating back to February, but there is no one who denies how important he was.”  – Doc Emrick on Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 29, 2020 – NBC Sports’ exclusive coverage of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final culminated tonight in historic fashion on NBC, as the Tampa Bay Lightning won the second Stanley Cup in the franchise’s 27-year history (also won in 2004) by defeating the Dallas Stars in a 2-0 shutout in Game 6 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. All Stanley Cup Final games were played at Rogers Place.

Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Brian Boucher called the game along with Pierre McGuire providing reports and player interviews. Olczyk, Boucher and McGuire were on site at Rogers Place, while Emrick called the action from a home studio. Kathryn Tappen, Keith Jones, Anson Carter and Patrick Sharp provided studio commentary during intermissions and post-game from NBC Sports’ headquarters in Stamford, Conn. John Forslund also provided commentary from Rogers Place during pre-game coverage.

Tonight’s NHL Live included a feature on Philip Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Keeper of the Cup. Pre-game coverage also included a feature on Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point.

Following are notes and quotes from the Lightning’s Cup-clinching victory:

POST-GAME

Emrick on 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs: “Concluding a two-month period of tremendous competition, unity among all the players, both in and away from the bubble. Game 130. Day 59. One team will get their names on the trophy, the other disappointed. But deep in the heart of Texas, what a gallant performance from the team in green…after (the Lightning) congratulate each other and get over the glorious shock of having won, they realize there is another noble tradition of all of this – and that is the handshakes.”

Emrick on Lightning captain Steven Stamkos: “He only played part of one period dating back to February, but there is no one who denies how important he was.”

Olczyk on 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs: “A lot of people said that the National Hockey League wouldn’t be able to pull this off – and they did in a big way with a boatload of help from a lot of people. These teams, these coaches, these players, these trainers, the medical professionals – incredible theater and incredible entertainment, with the understanding of what’s going on in the real world. A valiant effort by the Dallas Stars. The Tampa Bay Lightning were on a mission, no doubt about it.”

Olczyk on the Lightning: “No team had more pressure on them at the start of the bubble scenario than the Tampa Bay Lightning…they really changed the makeup of their club, they went out and got a little bigger, got a little tougher, got a little deeper…sometimes you have to have some adversity and sometimes you have to get knocked down, but the true colors of someone or some team aren’t when things are great but when things are tough, and that’s when you show what the hell you’re made of.”

Tappen: “The greatest trophy in all of sports being handed out to the team that deserved it most.”

Sharp on Stamkos: “Steven Stamkos was their inspirational leader…Tampa won the Stanley Cup without their best forward or one of their best forwards. That’s how dangerous this team was.”

Jones on the Lightning: “They put on a very good demonstration of everything they represented tonight. They defended well, they got goals, got goaltending, they were the better team, the best team throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs and deserved to hoist the Cup at the end.”

Sharp on Tampa Bay RW Nikita Kucherov: “He’s been through a lot with this Tampa Bay team. A few losses over the years. I thought he was really impressive in this postseason, how he fought through some tough checking in the Boston and Columbus series, and you see by his body language how much it means to him.”

Carter while watching the Lightning’s champagne-drenched locker room celebration: “I go back to the other team celebrations. You watch basketball, you watch baseball, you watch football, and this is once again another example of why hockey players are the toughest players – no ski goggles. (laughter) Guys are in there toughing it out. The champagne’s flowing, the beer is flowing, that stuff stings your eyes, but hockey players are going without the goggles.”

THIRD PERIOD

Emrick: “And the Tampa Bay Lightning have won the Stanley Cup!”

Emrick on the Stanley Cup: “It is glorious, magnificent, the words don’t really describe it, especially when you get to hold it…the sacrifices that you make to somehow or another try to get that Cup in your hands and eventually get your name on it.”

SECOND INTERMISSION

Sharp on Tampa Bay: “They’re right there, 20 minutes away…I can tell you there is no fatigue, no injuries in that Tampa Bay locker room. They’re going to all have legs and be buzzing around…it’s a special time for Tampa Bay.”

SECOND PERIOD

Olczyk on strong play of Lightning: “Tampa can feel it right now. Dallas does not have a lot of energy here and hasn’t had a lot of energy in this second period. Dallas looks like they’re playing uphill and Tampa is playing downhill.”

Boucher on C Blake Coleman’s goal, 2-0 Lightning: “The Dallas Stars fan growing up gets one against his favorite team as a kid and makes it 2-0. Good job by (Patrick) Maroon to pick this off in the neutral zone and drive the center lane which opens up the passing lane…a terrific play executed perfectly by Maroon, (Cedric) Paquette and Coleman.”

Olczyk on Tampa Bay LW Patrick Maroon: “The hand-eye coordination by Patrick Maroon, who won the Stanley Cup last year in St. Louis, comes to Tampa…Maroon had just jumped on the ice, knocks it out of mid-air.”

FIRST INTERMISSION

Carter on Dallas C Joe Pavelski: “As a player in the locker room, you learn more from the guy sitting next to you in the uniform than the guy sitting behind you with the cheap suit on…the coaching staff can tell you what they want to tell you, but you learn from the players around you. You watch Joe Pavelski play the game. It’s not all about scoring goals, he blocks shots, he’s huge in faceoffs, his whole all-around game really talks about what he’s all about – winning hockey games.”

FIRST PERIOD

Boucher on C Brayden Point’s goal, 1-0 Lightning: “(Anton) Khudobin was not able to corral that puck, I think he thought it was in between his arm and his rib. It wasn’t. An easy put away for Brayden Point.”

Boucher on Stars to end first period: “Some positive momentum for the Dallas Stars at the end of this period. They don’t score, but they get some chances.”

PRE-GAME

Sharp on playing in a Cup-clinching game: “Some of the best advice I ever got was to try and stay as relaxed as you can leading up to the game. Trust when that puck drops, adrenaline will be going, energy will be flowing through your body…it’s something that is on your mind the entire game. Every shift you’re on the ice, the play you make could win or lose the game for your team.”

Jones on this year’s Tampa Bay Lightning: “They’ve been really resilient and bouncing back after difficult losses. In previous seasons, I’d be worried about Tampa. I’m not worried about them tonight. I think they find a way to get the job done. It’s a different Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team.”

Sharp on pre-game mentality: “Lot of nervous energy, usually you hear that crowd going in whatever building you are in…these guys are manufacturing their own energy, their own intensity and it’s been really impressive to see throughout this entire postseason, the level of hockey we get to watch. It’s an empty building they are playing in, we have to remind everyone about that, looks like playoff hockey from where I’m sitting.”

Sharp on pressure facing the Lightning: “I don’t want to speak for the players in the Tampa Bay locker room, but I would think the pressure falls on their shoulders. The series at 3-1, everyone was counting out the Dallas Stars, planning the parade for the Lightning…they’ve had a full day to digest and understand they have two cracks at this thing.”

–NBC SPORTS–

Game 6 Pre-Game Coverage Begins with NHL Live at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Stanley Cup Final Game 7 (If Necessary) – Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC

Tampa Bay Lightning Lead Dallas Stars in Series 3-2

WWE Superstar and Lightning Fan Titus O’Neil Featured on Special Stanley Cup Final Episode of Anson Carter’s Hockey Culture

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 28, 2020 – The 2020 Stanley Cup Final between the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning continues with exclusive coverage of Game 6 tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Tonight’s pre-game coverage begins with NHL Live at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. All Stanley Cup Final games are taking place at Rogers Place in the NHL bubble in Edmonton, Alberta.

Eight-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick will handle play-by-play duties for Game 6 alongside U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst). Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire will provide reports and player interviews throughout the game.

Kathryn Tappen will host tonight’s studio coverage alongside studio analysts Keith Jones, Anson Carter and Patrick Sharp.

Pre-game coverage on NHL Live will include an interview with Philip Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Keeper of the Cup as well as a feature on forward Brayden Point of the Lightning, who currently has the second-most points (32) this postseason, trailing only teammate Nikita Kucherov (33 pts).

With a 3-2 series lead, Tampa Bay can win the franchise’s second Stanley Cup (2004) with a victory tonight, while Dallas will look to force a decisive Game 7 on Wednesday night. Stars forward Corey Perry scored the game-winning goal as Dallas defeated Tampa Bay 3-2 in double overtime to avoid elimination in Game 5 on Saturday.

Highlighted quotes from the matchup are below. Click here for full notes and quotes from Game 5.

Olczyk: “The Dallas Stars a gutsy performance here in Game 5…an incredible hockey game. Theater galore.”

Jones on Dallas RW Corey Perry: “Corey Perry was the best player on the ice in this game. He deserved to score the game-winning goal. He was the most-noticeable and most-effective player.”

Jones on Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin: “This guy has been one of the biggest stories of the playoffs and he doesn’t want his story to end just yet. The final chapter has not been written and he’s doing his part to keep this thing going.”

Emrick on Khudobin: “So many questions asked about his ability to play back-to-back games. Size, age and all of that. Question mark replaced by an exclamation point thus far.”

Last week, WWE superstar and Tampa Bay Lightning fan Titus O’Neil joined Anson Carter on a special Stanley Cup Final episode of NBC Sports’ Hockey Culture, an initiative led by Carter, dedicated to bringing equality and inclusion to the sport of hockey. O’Neil and Carter discussed a number of topics, including how O’Neil became a fan of the Lightning, his childhood and the impact he has made in the local Tampa community. Below is a highlighted quote from the conversation:

O’Neil on what his work in the local Tampa community means to him: “Being able to have a place where people can grow, learn and have pride in…there should be some sort of culture set…there’s so many elements that can happen with change, but the biggest thing we’ve seen is that there are so many partners in this community that care and want to see the work done.” 

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Senior Executive Vice President, Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs, Kim Davis, joined Carter for a conversation on diversity and inclusion in hockey last week. For notable quotes from the Hockey Culture episode, click here.

Following is the upcoming Stanley Cup Final schedule:

* If Necessary

NBC SPORTS RADIO STANLEY CUP FINAL BROADCAST DETAILS

In conjunction with Westwood One, NBC Sports Radio will broadcast every game of the Stanley Cup Final. Kenny Albert and Joe Micheletti will call the Cup Final, while Steve Goldstein will serve as host during pre- and post-game and intermissions.

2020 STANLEY CUP FINAL SCHEDULE

* If Necessary

–NBC SPORTS–

Dallas Stars Defeat Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Double Overtime at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

“An incredible hockey game. Theater galore.” – Eddie Olczyk

“Corey Perry was the best player on the ice in this game. He deserved to score the game-winning goal.” – Keith Jones

Lightning Can Win Stanley Cup in Game 6 – Monday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC – Pre-game Coverage on NHL Live Starts at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 27, 2020 – NBC Sports continued its exclusive presentation of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final last night with Game 5 between the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on NBC. Stars forward Corey Perry scored the game-winning goal as Dallas defeated Tampa Bay 3-2 in double overtime to avoid elimination and cut Tampa Bay’s series lead to 3-2. All Stanley Cup Final games are being played at Rogers Place.

Game 6 takes place Monday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live on NBCSN. With a victory, Tampa Bay can win the franchise’s second Stanley Cup (2004), while Dallas will look to force a decisive Game 7.

Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Brian Boucher called the game along with Pierre McGuire providing reports and player interviews. Olczyk, Boucher and McGuire were on site at Rogers Place, while Emrick called the action from a home studio. Kathryn Tappen, Keith Jones, Anson Carter and Patrick Sharp provided studio commentary during intermissions and post-game from NBC Sports’ headquarters in Stamford, Conn.

Following are notes and quotes from Game 5:

POST-GAME

Jones on Dallas RW Corey Perry: “Corey Perry was the best player on the ice in this game. He deserved to score the game-winning goal. He was the most-noticeable and most-effective player.”

Sharp on impact of Dallas’ C Joe Pavelski and Perry: “Pavelski scores goals when his team needs him the most…when these guys get opportunities, they know what to do with it.”

Carter: “Amazing Corey Perry. I had no idea he still had that in his skill set. I really didn’t.”

DOUBLE OVERTIME

Olczyk: “The Dallas Stars a gutsy performance here in Game 5…an incredible hockey game. Theater galore.”

Emrick on Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin: “So many questions asked about his ability to play back-to-back games. Size, age and all of that. Question mark replaced by an exclamation point thus far.”

SECOND OVERTIME INTERMISSION

Jones on Khudobin: “This guy has been one of the biggest stories of the playoffs and he doesn’t want his story to end just yet. The final chapter has not been written and he’s doing his part to keep this thing going.”

OVERTIME

Emrick: “Is there enough drama for you?”

OVERTIME INTERMISSION

Jones on impact of Pavelski and Perry: “They are refusing to go home. Both players have had major influences on the Dallas Stars really all Playoffs long and tonight they have been exceptional, especially Corey Perry…this is vintage Corey Perry, we haven’t seen this for a couple of years. There’s no question that if Dallas didn’t have Perry and Pavelski going, we wouldn’t be talking about overtime.”

THIRD PERIOD

Emrick: “Playoff hockey is a battle of wills. Marvelous action.”

Olczyk: “What a gutsy effort by the Stars, who are banged up, but they found a way to get to overtime here in Game 5.”

Boucher on C Pavelski’s game-tying goal, tied 2-2: “Joe Pavelski, who was awesome in Game 4, comes through here in Game 5…the rebound by Pavelski, he puts it home. That is a historic goal for Joe Pavelski.”

Boucher on D Mikhail Sergachev’s go-ahead goal, 2-1 Lightning: “I don’t think (Anton) Khudobin was able to locate this puck, but (Mikhail) Sergachev got a lot on it. No tip. Through the screen, inside the post – a perfect shot by Sergachev.”

SECOND INTERMISSION

Jones on Stars: “Follow Corey Perry’s lead. He’s been outstanding…I don’t mind the Dallas Stars’ top players’ performance so far in this game, but if they’re going to beat (Andrei) Vasilevskiy, it’s going to be on the sticks of Perry, (Tyler) Seguin and (Jamie) Benn.”

Sharp on Tampa Bay LW Ondrej Palat: “He’s not undervalued inside that locker room…I bet every forward on that team wants to play on a line with Ondrej Palat…he does the little things, wins a ton of battles, he gets to the front of the net and he scores beautiful goals.”

Carter on Tampa Bay’s urgency throughout the first two periods: “They’ve got to stay on the body…Tampa Bay forwards (need to) get back to pounding. They’ve gotten this far by being physical, making them pay the price and they can’t deviate from that if they want to hoist the Cup tonight.”

SECOND PERIOD

Olczyk on Palat’s goal, tied 1-1: “I don’t know why (Anton) Khudobin did not poke check that puck. He just stayed in his net. I’m sure for Palat, his eyes got awfully large as he took the puck to the blue point and he was able to skate from one side to the other.”

FIRST INTERMISSION

Jones on Khudobin: “He looks confident, which is what impresses me the most…anytime you think that the cracks in the armor are really going to start to show, he finds a way to come up with a big performance.”

Carter on Tampa Bay LW Pat Maroon: “He wasn’t brought in to score goals. After last season’s disappointment, he was brought in because the Tampa Bay Lightning needed an attitude adjustment…whenever something was going on during the regular season, the first guy to stand up in the room and say, ‘Hey boys, that’s not the way to do it. This is how we did it in St. Louis,’ is a guy like Patty Maroon. Now he has the hardware on his finger, so the guys are more likely to listen to him, as opposed to someone that comes to the room and hasn’t won a championship before.”

FIRST PERIOD

Boucher on Perry’s goal, 1-0 Stars: “Shoots this one through the arm of (Andrei) Vasilevskiy, kind of an odd first period with very little whistles. Tough for a goaltender to get into the groove.”

Olczyk: “Mikhail Sergachev was struggling the last 20 seconds of that shift…he runs right into (Alexander) Radulov and you see him leaning over, so Tampa Bay was basically playing with only four players because Sergachev really never moved.”

PRE-GAME

Emrick: “Will it be the bubble again or champagne bubbles?”

–NBC SPORTS–