2004 Stanley Cup Finals

The 2004 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2003–04 season, and the culmination of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Western Conference champion Calgary Flames in seven games, becoming the southernmost team to win the Stanley Cup. It was Tampa Bay's first-ever appearance in the final. For Calgary, it was the team's third appearance, and first since their championship season of 1989. Lightning owner William Davidson would soon become the first owner in sports history to win two championships in one year as eight days later, the other team that Davidson owned (the Detroit Pistons of the NBA) won the NBA title in five games over the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the last Stanley Cup Finals played for two years, as the 2004–05 NHL lockout began three months after the end of this final, lasting over ten months and leading to the cancellation of the 2005 Final, with the league not returning to play for the Cup until 2006. This was the last of three consecutive Finals to feature a team making its debut appearance.