Tampa Bay Lightning denied three-peat by Colorado Avalanche but adamant 'it's not the end of our run'

TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning fell short of the first Stanley Cup three-peat since 1983 — but they don't believe their dynasty has crumbled.

«Who said we're done? This core is here. We've battled. We've been through everything you can think of and, for the most part, we've found a way to come out on top,» said captain Steven Stamkos after his team's 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night.

The Avalanche captured their first Stanley Cup since 2001 with the victory. They were favored to win the Cup as the playoffs began and favored to win this series.

«It's not like we lost to some powder puff. That's a baller team over there,» said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper. «We never had home ice. We played all these star-studded teams. They found a way. We just ran into one more brick wall and we just couldn't get through this one.»

Cooper agreed with Stamkos that the Lightning's run didn't end with the Avalanche. In the past eight years, the Lightning have been to six conference finals and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final four times.

«The playoff streak ended. But it's not the end of our run,» said Cooper. «I've been extremely fortunate in my coaching career to have won championships at different levels and those are the teams you remember. Sometimes you don't remember as much that a team didn't win. But I think I'll remember this team the most. What these guys went through, with the injuries… it's been well-documented what kind of warriors they are. You should see what's going on [with injuries].»

The Lightning were without star center Brayden Point, who missed the previous two rounds with a lower-body injury he suffered in Game 7 against Toronto on May 14. He played the first two