TAMPA, Fla. — Ten teams over the last three years have attempted to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning in the postseason as they pursued a dynasty. They tried in the 2020 bubble, they tried in Canada, in North Carolina, across the state of Florida and on the islands of New York, but they all failed.
Since 2019, no one had found a way to unseat a team that made its way to the pinnacle, until Sunday, when the Colorado Avalanche discovered the right combination of skill, speed and determination needed to knock out the champ.
For the first time since the onset of the pandemic, the N.