Colorado Avalanche win their first Stanley Cup in 21 years - their third in the franchise history - after dethroning reigning champs Tampa Bay Lightning

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For the first time since 2001, the Colorado Avalanche are hockey's reigning champs - defeating two-time defending winner the Tampa Bay Lightning to take home the Stanley Cup on Sunday night. 

The Avalanche won the Cup for just the third time in franchise history with a goal and assist from center Nathan MacKinnon, beating the Lightning 2-1 in Game Six of the finals.

It's the first title for the team led by MacKinnon, captain Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar, making them the first team to defeat the Lightning in the postseason for the past three years as the Lightning sought to create a dynasty.

The Colorado team has been gaining momentum in recent years after missing the playoffs six times in seven years from 2011 to 2017. 

With the foresight of Joe Sakic - who led the team to its last Stanley Cup more than two decades ago - the Avalanche was able to build a team that complemented each other.

Last year, the team won the President's Trophy - which is given to the team with the best regular season record.

But until now, the Avalanche has not been able to convert their regular season success into playoff glory after falling in the second round of each of the previous three years.

'It feels unbelievable,' MacKinnon said. 'Some tough years mixed in there, but it's all over now.   

'We never stopped believing.'

He added: 'It's crazy. I can't wait to hug my family.

'It's hard to describe,' MacKinnon said, according to the Denver Post. 'I didn't really know what it was going to be like to actually win it.

'Just seeing all these warriors battle. It just feels unbelievable. Words can't describe how I feel right now.' 

Sparks flew at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on Sunday after the Colorado Avalanche earned their first Stanley Cup since 2001, and just their third in franchise history. Captain Gabriel Landeskog is seen triumphantly holding up the team's new trophy Sunday night

Teammates on the Colorado Avalanche jumped for joy after they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 1 in Game Six of the Stanley Cup finals on Sunday night 

The win marks the third time in the franchise's history the Colorado Avalanche took home the Stanley Cup 

The team broke their decades long dry spell with incredible speed and some important goals from its new players

As sparks rained down on Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida each of the players on the Avalanche took their turn to hold the cup aloft and kiss it as they paraded it around the ice - just as the Lightning had done on their home ice one year earlier when it beat the Montreal Canadiens.

'That's 20-plus years of just dreaming, wanting and working for it,' Landeskog said. 'It's finally coming to fruition after a lot of crazy years and then a lot of hard work.

'But this group is just amazing, all the way from the top to our third massage therapist to the wives to the fans to everybody working in Ball (Arena) right now. It´s incredible.' 

The Lightning had sought to create a dynasty similar to that of the New York Islanders in the early 1980s, and became the first team since then to reach a third consecutive finals series after they defeated the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta - a neutral site without any fans - back in 2020.

But it seems the Lightning have finally met their match, with Cole Maka, the Avalanche's 23-year-old defenseman named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner on Sunday as the most valuable player in the playoffs for his eight goals and 29 points.

And the Avalanche's coach, Jared Bednar, is now the first to win the Stanley Cup, American Hockey League's Calder Cup and ECHL's Kelly Cup.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog seemed ecstatic as he skated the Stanley Cup back to his team on Sunday night

He raised the Stanley Cup defiantly in front of his teammates, who cheered and celebrated the victory

Each of the teammates on the Colorado Avalanche got their chance to hold the Stanley Cup and parade it around the ice

Colorado Avalanche fans cheered at a bar in Denver as the team stood on the brink of winning the championship

 With a mix of speed, high-end talent and the experiences gained from those defeats, Colorado broke through this time - earning every bit of the championship by knocking off the team that hoisted the Cup for the past two years.

Like the Avalanche fully expected, it wasn´t easy.

After an early turnover by Makar leading to Steven Stamkos' goal that put them in a hole and several more bumps and bruises, the Avalanche tied it when MacKinnon beat 2021 playoff MVP Andrei Vasilevskiy with a near-perfect shot and got ahead on another big goal by trade deadline acquisition Artturi Lehkonen. 

They finally locked things down by holding on to the puck and not letting Tampa Bay even shoot the puck on goalie Darcy Kuemper in the third period, with the Lightning failing to get any shots within the first 10 minutes of the period.

And when they did, Kuemper was there. 

Brought in from Arizona in a trade last summer to shore up the sport's most important position, Kuemper was solid again and made his most important save with under seven minutes left when he slid over to deny skilled winger Nikita Kucherov.

His teammates then finished the job.

The Colorado Avalanche is now trying to build up a new legacy after hiring some new talent this year to complement the existing players' talents

Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) reacts after scoring on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday

Colorado Avalanche players embraced after the team won the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals

Goalie Darcy Kuemper of the Colorado Avalanche jumped out of her goal after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game Six of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson (42), left, hugs center Andrew Cogliano (11)

Much like the Lightning went all in multiple times by trading high draft picks and prospects to load up for the best chance to win the Cup, Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic was not afraid to ante up in March to acquire Lehkonen, defenseman Josh Manson and veteran forward Andrew Cogliano.

They became the perfect complement to Colorado´s core that had showed plenty of playoff promise and until now hadn´t produced a championship.

'Yeah, we had the worst record, but we had some really good young players that were just about to become stars. A great core. You just build around them,' Sakic said in a post-game interview, adding: 'They wanted to be a part of it. Like MacKinnon, Landeskog, Eric Johnson, they didn't want to leave, they wanted to be a part of that.'

Sakic, who captained Colorado´s first two title-winning teams in 1996 and 2001, ultimately used a familiar recipe to get his team over the hump. Much like Pierre Lacroix, the architect of those Avalanche teams that had so much success after the organization moved to Denver, Sakic prioritized skill, speed and versatility.

That speed overwhelmed every opponent along the way, from an opening sweep of Nashville through a hard-fought, six-game series against St. Louis, another sweep of Edmonton and then Tampa Bay, which staved off elimination once but ended up two victories short of becoming the NHL´s first three-peat champions since the early 1980s New York Islanders dynasty.

'They´re a team that´s looking to become a dynasty,' Makar said. 'We´re a team that´s looking to start a legacy.'

That legacy finally involves a championship, thanks in large part to steady coach Jared Bednar, who in his sixth season found a way to focus his team on the mission at hand from the start of training camp.

That mentality helped the Avalanche get over the hump, and Bednar became the first coach to win the Stanley Cup, American Hockey League's Calder Cup and ECHL's Kelly Cup.

Bednar won the chess match with Jon Cooper, also a Stanley and Calder Cup champion who is considered one of the best tacticians in the NHL. But things began to stack up against the Lightning facing their stiffest competition since their run of success began in 2020.

It was not easy for the Colorado Avalanche to dethrone the two-time reigning champions. Colorado Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) is seen deflecting a shot by Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) during the first period of Game 6

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak (81) checks Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) during the third period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals

Linesman Steve Barton (59) separates Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (41) and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jack Johnson (3) during the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday

The Colorado Avalanche team members shook hands with the Tampa Bay Lightning players after defeating them

Asked how other teams might be able to copy the Avalanche's success, Landeskog quipped, 'Get a Cale Makar somewhere.'

Makar won the Conn Smythe after leading Colorado in scoring with 29 points in 20 games.

Injuries that sidelined top center Brayden Point and limited other key contributors proved too much against a stacked opponent built to withstand just about anything. 

Depth allowed the Avalanche to overcome losing defenseman Samuel Girard to a broken sternum and finish off the Lightning without Cup Final Game 1 overtime Andre Burakovsky sidelined by injury and with standout winger Valeri Nichushkin hobbling around on an injured right foot and center Nazem playing through a broken right thumb.

The Avalanche beat the Lightning before attrition could take too much of a toll and before the scary possibility of facing elimination in Game 7. Instead, they'll return to Denver to celebrate with the Stanley Cup.

While not as emotional as the past two years when Stamkos got the trophy, Colorado's series-ending victory marks another completion of an NHL season during a pandemic - the first back to 82 games with a normal playoff format since 2019. 

It was not without its stumbles, including postponing dozens of games and pulling out of the Olympics - and Commissioner Gary Bettman wasn't even able to hand the Cup to Landeskog because he tested positive for the coronavirus, leaving deputy Bill Daly to do the honors.

The Avalanche and Lightning dealt with at-times rough ice conditions playing late into June, something that should not happen moving forward as the league gets back to its regular schedule. 

When that happens, Colorado will get the chance to defend its crown and attempt to follow Tampa Bay in sustaining a perennial Cup contender.