Blake Coleman trade paying dividends for Tampa Bay Lightning in Stanley Cup Final

TAMPA, Florida — Blake Coleman was nearly a Montreal Canadien. Instead, he beat them on Thursday night at Amalie Arena in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. 

Coleman scored one of his signature diving, oh-my-god-how-did-he-do-that goals to help the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Habs. Tampa Bay is now up 2-0 in the series as it moves to Montreal this weekend. 

A few days before the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline, New Jersey Devils interim general manager Tom Fitzgerald traded away the team’s longtime captain, defenseman Andy Greene, shortly before hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. A few minutes later, Coleman was rumored to be on his way to Montreal, but there was no deal in place and the Devils quickly shot that rumor down.