"A lot of people need to do a lot of good work in order to build a good organization," said Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois, who cut his teeth with the Canadiens. "Both organizations have really strong ownership, passionate fan bases, good coaching, strong support staff and ultimately really good players, and that's why we're going to be facing each other in the Stanley Cup finals this year.
"It took a lot to get here: the heartbreak in 2015 getting all the way to the final and losing and then 2016 going to Game 7 against Pitt, losing that one, 2018 against Barry Trotz -- he beat us in Game 7 in this building, the heartbreak to Columbus in 2019," coach Jon Cooper said. "It was all building blocks to get to here."
"For us now, we've been in a lot of these series," veteran forward Alex Killorn said. "Just going through that you learn a ton. You learn how in series you've got to be even keel. You've got to realize that things aren't always going to go your way. You might get a bad call, this might happen, that might happen. ... And I think the older you get, you might have just more experience.
The Lightning's 66 playoff and 333 regular-season victories since 2015 are the most in the NHL in that time. "He did a lot of good things, filled some holes for us this offseason, and it's paying off right now," Weber said. "There's been some hard times, there's been some good times, but it's a part of the journey and a part of the story. It's been a good ride so far and hope to keep it going here."