Winning a championship is the peak achievement for a professional sports team. Repeating the next year is a rarity. But trades get made, and players retire. Injuries happen, and so do upsets. Postseason play is a grueling gantlet to run, and it keeps expanding. Winning a third straight title is one of the toughest feats in team sports, and it is seemingly getting tougher.
The Tampa Bay Lightning take to the ice on Wednesday night in a bid to win a third straight Stanley Cup. It’s been 20 years since any team won three consecutive championships in a major North American professional sport.