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By 2003 the Lightning, led by the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin and the bi-line efforts of Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Vaclav Prospal found themselves atop the Southeast Division and in the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Coming back from a two-game deficit, they beat the Washington Capitals in a six-game series, with St. Louis scoring the series-winner in triple overtime. The Lightning could not hold their own against their second-round opponent, the New Jersey Devils, however, losing that series in five games. Nikolai Khabibulin had a 3.0 GAA in that Series before being pulled in Game 5 in favor of John Grahame.

Dave Andreychuk and the 2004 squad claimed the Stanley Cup. After their breakout season, the Lightning finished the 2003-2004 season atop the Eastern Conference standings with a franchise record 106 points. In the first round of the playoffs, as the top seed, the Lightning ousted the New York Islanders, a team many picked to upset the Eastern Conference winners, as the Islanders had given the Lightning much trouble in the past. However, this was not to be so, and with solid play from goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, the Lightning went on to win the series by a convincing 4-1 margin. In the second round, the Lightning faced the Montreal Canadiens, the most successful NHL team ever. However, with quality play from Lecavalier, playoff MVP Brad Richards, and once again, Khabibulin, the Lightning were able to easily sweep the Canadiens in 4 straight games.

They faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference finals, winning in a back-and-forth seven-game series in which neither team was able to win consecutive games and earning them their first spot in the 2004 Stanley Cup finals. There they defeated the Calgary Flames 4 games to 3 to win their first Stanley Cup on June 7, 2004. Brad Richards, who had 26 points, won the Conn Smythe Trophy. But a few months after that, the Lightning had absolutely nothing to celebrate: the NHL, because of a labor dispute, would enter a season-canceling lockout.

See also:

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary on the western coast of Florida. Three prominent cities are located along the shores of the bay, Tampa, Saint Petersburg, and Clearwater. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge crosses the mouth of Tampa Bay.

The term "Tampa Bay" is also informally used as the name of the entire metropolitan area encompassing Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Clearwater, and several smaller cities. The Tampa Bay Area settlers were originally from Spain. The Native Americans from this region are known as Seminoles.