Tampa Bay Lightning Star Mocks Canadiens Fans and Slams Beer During Epic Stanley Cup Press Conference

Brandon ContesJul 8th, 2021, 12:32 pm
 

“F*cking back-to-back.” The Tampa Bay Lightning won their second Stanley Cup in less than 10 months and their superstar sniper Nikita Kucherov celebrated with an epic press conference.

“Joe, let’s hear it!” Kucherov said while slamming a beer, clapping his hands and pounding the table as he prepared for a question from The Athletic’s Joe Smith.

A shirtless Kucherov told Smith that he couldn’t sleep for three nights and it was “outstanding” to win the game Wednesday. Tampa Bay finished off the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, avoiding a second trip north, which pleased the Russian-born hockey star.

“I’m so happy, I didn’t wanna go back to Montreal. They acted, the fans in Montreal, come on, they acted like they won the Stanley Cup last game,” Kucherov said. “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Their final was last series.”

After missing the entire regular season while recovering from hip surgery, Kucherov returned for the NHL Playoffs, sparking the Lightning with 32 points. Although he led the team in scoring, Kucherov was thrilled to see Tampa Bay’s goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy receive the award for playoff MVP.

A four-time finalist for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the NHL’s best regular season goalie, Vasilevskiy logged five shutouts for the Lightning in the playoffs, helping them win their third Stanley Cup in franchise history.

“Vasy was outstanding. MVP,” Kucherov said. “I was telling him every day, Vasy MVP. You’re the best player. And then they give it to whatever the guy in Vegas, the Vezina. And last year, they gave Vezina to somebody else. Number one bullsh*t. Number one bullsh*t.”

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