to miss 6–8 weeks as a result, which at the time was expected to keep him out for the remainder of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. Tampa Bay had only played 70 games when the NHL suspended the season on March 12, 2020, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not until late May that the league decided to cancel the remainder of the regular season. At the time, the Lightning had a record of 43–21–6 and were second in their conference. To finish the season the league expanded the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs to include 24 teams. In July, it was announced that the playoffs would begin August 1, and would take place in the Canadian cities of Toronto as the Eastern Conference hub, and Edmonton for the Western Conference. By virtue of having one of the top four highest point percentages at the time the season was suspended, the Lightning not only qualified for the playoffs, but would first compete in a single round-robin opening round group with the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers to determine seeding. Winning two out of three games, the Lightning earned the second seed in the East. Following the round-robin, the Lightning drew the Columbus Blue Jackets again in the first round. The first game of the series ultimately became the fourth-longest NHL game in history, as the game-winning goal was scored by Brayden Point at the 10:27 mark of the fifth overtime period. Point also scored in overtime for a second time in game five, eliminating Columbus. In the second round, the Lightning faced the Boston Bruins. After losing the first game of this series, the Lightning rallied to win the next four, with Victor Hedman's double-overtime goal in game 5 sealing the series victory for Tampa Bay. After advancing, the remainder of the Lightning's playoff run took place in Edmonton, which had been planned as the site of both of the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Lightning took on the New York Islanders. The Islanders extended the Lightning to six games, but Tampa Bay would once again prevail in overtime to win the series, with the game-winning goal this time being scored by Anthony Cirelli. The win earned the Lightning the Prince of Wales Trophy for the third time in their history, and their first