Pro Sports

Maroon 3-peat? Lightning forward can join elite Cup company

Posted July 05, 2021 7:00 am

By STEPHEN WHYNO

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pat Maroon (14) celebrates his goal past Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) as Canadiens defenceman Brett Kulak (77) looks on during the third period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final in Montreal, Monday, July 5, 2021. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Patrick Maroon signed with the St. Louis Blues in the summer of 2018 to play in front of young son Anthony and try to bring the Stanley Cup back to his hometown.

After accomplishing that in 2019, he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning and helped them hoist the Cup in 2020. One more Lightning win and Maroon becomes just the fourth player in NHL history and the first since 1964 to win the Stanley Cup three seasons in a row with two different teams.

"It's a great achievement," Maroon said Monday morning. 'œIt would be an amazing accomplishment, that's for sure. .... It's exciting, though, to be talked about like that.'ť

Maroon tried to carve out his own place in history in Game 4 a few hours later, scoring the tying goal with 6:12 left in regulation. But Montreal won in overtime to send the series back to Tampa for Game 5 and his next opportunity to three-peat.

Ed Litzenberger was the last to accomplish such a feat, with Chicago in 1961 and then Toronto from 1962-64. Even if he'd need another ring next year to match Litzenberger, Maroon would be in a class of his own to be the first player to go three-for-three in different uniforms since the expansion era began in 1967 and expanded the league beyond six teams.

Teammates don't think it's any coincidence Maroon has played on so many winning teams.

'œHe's got a savviness that he brings with him into the locker room, and it rubs off to guys and brings a certain level of confidence,'ť Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. 'œNot over the top, but just enough to know that if you do the right things, you play to your team's structure, you have a chance to win every night and he keeps that group, our group pulling in the same direction.'ť

Now facing Maroon as a defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, former Blues teammate Joel Edmundson said the 33-year-old forward brings a winning approach on and off the ice.

'œHe's one of those guys that gets guys laughing in the dressing room, and obviously he's a big part of their forward group,'ť Edmundson said. 'œHe's going to hold on to the puck down low and play in the offensive end behind the net. He's just obviously a big body and a good locker room guy.'ť

KILLORN SITS

Lightning forward Alex Killorn missed a third consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. Killorn took warmup but was scratched with Mathieu Joseph remaining in the lineup. Joseph set up Maroon for the tying goal Monday night.

CANADIENS CHANGES

When making a handful of lineup changes for Game 4, coach Dominique Ducharme said the Canadiens 'œhave depth'ť and 'œhave options.'ť He wasn't wrong, and those moves paid off.

Jake Evans went in for Jesperi Kotkaniemi up front, and Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak replaced Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill on defense. Evans set up Romanov's third-period goal.

ELSA WARNING

A tropical storm warning was issued Monday for Tampa and surrounding counties with Elsa churning through Cuba and toward Florida.

It's not likely to affect Game 5 on Wednesday night: The worst of the storm was expected to be closer to Atlanta - former home of the Thrashers - than Tampa at the scheduled start time.

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Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno

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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Tampa Bay Lightning's Pat Maroon (14) celebrates his goal with teammates Ryan McDonagh (27), Tyler Johnson (9) and Mathieu Joseph (7) during the third period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, Monday, July 5, 2021. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pat Maroon (14) scores past Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) as Canadiens defenseman Brett Kulak (77) tries to defend during the third period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final in Montreal, Monday, July 5, 2021. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning's Pat Maroon (14) celebrates his goal with teammates Ryan McDonagh (27) and Tyler Johnson (9) during the third period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup final against the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal, Monday, July 5, 2021. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning's Kevin Shattenkirk (22) and Pat Maroon (14) celebrate after defeating the Dallas Stars to win the Stanley Cup in the NHL Stanley Cup hockey finals in Edmonton, Alberta, in this Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, file photo. Maroon would become the fourth player in NHL history and first since 1964 to win the Stanley Cup three seasons in a row as long as the Tampa Bay Lightning finish off the Montreal Canadiens in the final. The St. Louis native helped his hometown Blues win the Cup in 2019 for their first title in franchise history and was with the Lightning when they won last fall in the bubble.(Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP, File) The Associated Press

FILE - St. Louis Blues left wing Pat Maroon lifts the Stanley Cup during the NHL hockey Stanley Cup victory celebration in St. Louis, in this Saturday, June 15, 2019, file photo. Maroon would become the fourth player in NHL history and first since 1964 to win the Stanley Cup three seasons in a row as long as the Tampa Bay Lightning finish off the Montreal Canadiens in the final. The St. Louis native helped his hometown Blues win the Cup in 2019 for their first title in franchise history and was with the Lightning when they won last fall in the bubble. (AP Photo/Scott Kane, File) The Associated Press

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