Top 5 Players of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals

Originally published on Jul. 7, 2021

By Zane Miller

On Wednesday, July 7th, 2021, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens at Amalie Arena in Tampa to win the 107th Stanley Cup Finals four games to one. It was the third Stanley Cup championship for the Lightning franchise, and the third that was won in Florida. These are the top five players that I felt most stood out during the series.

5. #17 Josh Anderson (Canadiens)- F

Anderson added two goals to achieve player of the game in game four, scoring the game winner in the Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime victory to stave off elimination.

4. #20 Blake Coleman (Lightning)- F

Coleman claimed player of the game honors in game two, scoring a goal as the Lightning went on to take a 3-1 victory.

3. #9 Tyler Johnson (Lightning)- F

Johnson scored player of the game in game three, as he added a pair of goals in Tampa Bay’s 6-3 win to pull ahead to a 3-0 series lead.

2. #86 Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)- F

Kucherov was game one’s player of the game courtesy of two goals and an assist as the Lightning went on to take a 5-1 victory to open up the series.

1. #88 Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning)- G

Vasilevskiy earned player of the game honors in game five, picking up the shutout with 22 saves on 22 chances as the Lightning went on to win it 1-0 to clinch back-to-back championships.

Players of the Game Breakdown:

Link to stats database: https://www.hockey-reference.com/playoffs/2021-montreal-canadiens-vs-tampa-bay-lightning-stanley-cup-final.html

R.I.P. Matiss Kivlenieks