"And they may be here next year, who knows?" President Joe Biden says during the ceremony for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions on the South Lawn.
By the end of the opening episode of the seven-part all-access series, which is now available on ESPN+ in the United States and YouTube.com/NHL in Canada, the Lightning are halfway to earning another trip to the White House after sweeping the Florida Panthers in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round.
The Lightning, who advanced to within one round of the Stanley Cup Final for the sixth time in eight seasons, are bidding to become the first team to win the Stanley Cup in three consecutive seasons since the New York Islanders won four straight championships from 1980-1983.
"That's our 10th playoff series win in a row," coach Jon Cooper says after a series-ending 2-0 win in Game 4 on Monday. "And as incredible as that is, Patrick Maroon has won 14 in a row."
Maroon, who scored the winning goal Monday, also won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. He and the Lightning await the winner of the second-round series between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final.
This episode focuses primarily on the Sunshine State rivalry between the Lightning and the Panthers and the Western Conference Second Round series between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues.
Being in St. Louis for Game 3 provides an opportunity to catch up with 14-year-old super fan Laila Anderson, who has a rare autoimmune disease, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Her courage inspired the Blues during their 2019 Cup run.
"Technically, my doctor said I'm never considered cured because my cells could come back at any moment and fight my donor cells," Anderson says. "But as of now I'm like any other 14-year-old. I play hockey, I'm in school, I love to hang out with my friends and, obviously, I love coming to Blues games."
After Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard (broken sternum) and Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (lower body) are injured during the first period, coach Jared Bednar is shown in the locker room imploring Colorado to shoot more on Binnington's replacement, Ville Husso.
"We know what we've got to do here," Bednar says. "Keep shooting in the offensive zone, boys. This guy hasn't played in a little bit."
The approach pays off for Colorado with a 5-2 victory, which gives it a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau spends an off day showing off his car collection, including a blue Ferrari he calls his "game car" and spending time poolside with his brother Sebastien, teammate MacKenzie Weegar and friends. After talking about the relief that came from defeating the Washington Capitals in the first round for Florida's first playoff series win since 1996, Huberdeau looks ahead to playing Tampa Bay.
"Pool time is over," Huberdeau said. "Time to go win some games now."
Unfortunately for Huberdeau, the Panthers' frustrations continue against the Lightning, who defeated them in the first round last season. A 5-1 loss in Game 3 on Sunday is followed by a 2-0 loss in Game 4 on Monday, with Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy making 49 saves for his NHL-record sixth series-clinching shutout.
"Our goalie stole it tonight," Cooper tells Panthers coach Andrew Brunette in the handshake line afterward.
