Arizona Coyotes. Winning their final regular season game against the Boston Bruins, the Lightning finished with 62 wins, tying the NHL record set by the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a season. Nikita Kucherov became the second player in Lightning franchise history (after Martin St. Louis) to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point scorer, setting a new franchise record of 128 points. Andrei Vasilevskiy became the first player in franchise history to win the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender. However, in the first round of the playoffs, they were swept in four games by the Columbus Blue Jackets, becoming the first Presidents' Trophy winner to be swept in the first round of the playoffs. The series is widely regarded as one of the biggest upsets in league history. Jeremy Roenick of NBC Sports described Tampa's elimination as "one of the biggest letdowns in history", while the Tampa Bay Times described it as "the disappointment that all others are measured against". Back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and three straight Finals appearances Following their earlier than expected exit from the playoffs, several players left the Lightning. Left winger J. T. Miller was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. Backup goaltender Louis Domingue was dealt to the New Jersey Devils for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2021. Defenseman Anton Stralman signed a three-year contract with the Florida Panthers. Right winger Ryan Callahan's career was effectively ended when he was diagnosed with a degenerative back disease. The Lightning signed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to a one-year contract, after his contract with the New York Rangers was bought out. Left winger Patrick Maroon, who was coming off a Stanley Cup championship with the St. Louis Blues, was also signed to a one-year deal. The Lightning re-signed centers Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point to two and three-year contracts, respectively. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy's contract was extended by eight years. The Lightning began the season with a 17–13–4 record after 34 games. After this point, they won 23 of their next 26 games, including two separate win streaks of at least ten games, the second of which eventually set a new franchise record of eleven consecutive wins. They lost captain Steven Stamkos to injury once again, as he underwent surgery to repair a core muscle in March. He was expected