Celebratory, but maybe not sanitary.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and their fans Wednesday basked in the glow of a Stanley Cup victory, complete with a public event at Raymond James Stadium and even a boat parade around the Hillsborough River.
Included, as customary, were some players taking drinks from the Cup. And then some fans joined in, too. So a coronavirus pandemic couldn’t slow this championship tradition.
“We’re excited to share this with Tampa,” Lightning forward Alex Killorn said. “I know they weren’t here throughout the series and in the bubble, but this is our time to enjoy it with them because (the fans) are a big part of this team.”
Tampa Bay beat the Dallas Stars in six games, as the Stanley Cup Finals were contested in an Edmonton bubble. NHL players were tested for COVID-19 daily, and the league didn’t have a single positive test.
The players were in the bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton for a total of 65 days.
“This was not only a hockey Stanley Cup,” owner Jeff Vinik said. “This was a mental Stanley Cup to get through that period of time. Kudos to them and kudos to their families for being so supportive. That’s a long time away from home and I don’t think any of us can appreciate how tough that was.”
