WASHINGTON — From the ice to the South Lawn, the Tampa Bay Lightning were in Washington Monday to visit to the White House in celebration of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins.

What You Need To Know

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning visited the White House

  • The trip came as a way to celebrate their two back to back Stanley Cup victories

  • They believe that they will be able to duplicate their success once again this year

They celebrated their 2020 and 2021 victories, while on their way to winning what they hope will be their third next year.

Players said they were excited to take the tour of the White House, and even had the chance to go into the Oval Office with President Joe Biden. There, the team presented him with a jersey. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning received all the fanfare they've been waiting for, filing in one by one as Biden congratulated the team on its back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. 

"You know, if there's a little extra excitement at the White House today it's because the Cup is in the building," Biden said at a press conference during the team's visit. 

In its history, the team has won the Stanley Cup three times — once in 2004, and then again during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. 

Players said the visit was a long time in the making, but worth the wait. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they said they didn't know if they'd ever get the opportunity to make the trip to the White House. 

"That was, I'm sure, one of the highlights of a lot of our lives, not just our hockey careers, to be here with the president," said Tampa Bay team captain Steven Stamkos.

Coach Jon Cooper said that after so many challenges during the pandemic, like playing without fans, it was a surreal experience to walk through the White House halls Monday.

"I understand, like so many different people who come through the White House or have that opportunity," he said. "You know, I think there's something about a sports team, they walk through here and it kind of lifts everybody up, and you could see that today."

And with the NHL playoffs starting soon, the team is hoping for a three-peat.

"Although we know the difficulties ahead of us, we feel we have a great group intact that's going to battle hard for one another, and leave it all on the ice," said Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh.

The team will be playing the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday night.