Stanley Cup 2015 Game 1 TV Schedule and Blackhawks vs. Lightning Predictions

Game 1 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final gets underway Wednesday night as the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning take yet another step toward reaching hockey lore.

Both the Blackhawks and the Lightning are coming off thrilling conference finals that went the distance. The Lightning took down the Rangers in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, while the Blackhawks did the same, battling back from a 3-2 series deficit before winning the series finale on the road.

Now four wins separate each team from hoisting the Stanley Cup. 

All of the Stanley Cup Final games can be viewed on national television on either NBC or NBCSN. All games, with the exception of Game 2 Saturday, will start at 8 p.m. ET.

Game	Date	Location	Time	TV
1	Wednesday, June 3	Tampa Bay	8 p.m. ET	NBC
2	Saturday, June 6	Tampa Bay	7:15 p.m. ET	NBC
3	Monday, June 8	Chicago	8 p.m. ET	NBCSN
4	Wednesday, June 10	Chicago	8 p.m. ET	NBCSN
5 (if necessary)	Saturday, June 13	Tampa Bay	8 p.m. ET	NBC
6 (if necessary)	Monday, June 15	Chicago	8 p.m. ET	NBC
7 (if necessary)	Wednesday, June 17	Tampa Bay	8 p.m. ET	NBC

Odds in Blackhawks' Corner

The Blackhawks are favored to win the 2015 Stanley Cup, according to OddsShark.com, which favors the Western Conference champions at -145. 

Chicago is coming off a 5-3 Game 7 triumph over the Anaheim Ducks. The Blackhawks had to battle back from a series deficit just to force a seventh game and took care of business in convincing fashion.

The underdog Lightning also came up victorious in a Game 7 scenario. Tampa Bay went on the road to Madison Square Garden and blanked the Rangers, 2-0, to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Interestingly enough, Tampa Bay has home-ice advantage and is the site for Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. 

Will Experience or Youth Prevail?

The veteran-laden Blackhawks have an edge in the experience department. That begins with leading goalscorer Patrick Kane, who has recorded 10 goals, 10 assists and 20 total points.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

In the 2009–10 season, Kane lifted Chicago to its first Stanley Cup in 49 years. That postseason, Kane became the youngest player in NHL history to score a Cup-winning goal in overtime.

Now in his eighth season, Kane has the Blackhawks in contention for yet another Stanley Cup. He's been helped along the way by both Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, who has mustered 18 points in the playoffs, including two goals and 16 assists in 17 games. In addition, Keith has been a force, as he refuses to get off the ice. He leads the league with 31:35 minutes of ice time per game.

Toews has the "been there, done that" sort of edge like Kane. Toews was integral to the Blackhawks' title run in 2013, the year he won the Selke Trophy. This postseason, the captain again stepped up in crunch time in the final three games in the Ducks series.

As for the Lightning, they turn to their captain, Steven Stamkos, who is bracing for his first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Stamkos overcame a slow start to the postseason in which he scored one goal in the first 11 contests and has put six in the back of the net in his last nine. 

Stamkos and Victor Hedman are the only two Lightning players who were on the 2011 edition of the team that advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. The team owns an average age of 26.2, so it is certainly a concern how the players will play on hockey's grandest stage.

The Goalie Factor

Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford has endured his fair share of ups and downs throughout the team's playoff run. Crawford was benched in favor of Scott Darling in the first-round series against the Predators, but he has bounced back with a strong outing against the Wild and, of course, the Ducks. 

Crawford owns a .919 save percentage during this postseason, which shows he's vulnerable. However, that percentage balloons back up to .933 in games in which his team faces elimination or has an opportunity to eliminate an opponent.

In other words, Crawford is ready for the moment.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Crawford's counterpart, Ben Bishop, owns a .920 save percentage and has surrendered three or more goals in six playoff games. That includes three games in which he has allowed five past him.

More pressing, Bishop is about to see an extremely dangerous offense in the Blackhawks, arguably his biggest challenge to date in the postseason. 

However, with the Lightning on the verge of elimination, Bishop stepped up with a Game 7 shutout on the road in front of a raucous New York City crowd. Now he has home-ice advantage in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.

Prediction: Championship Pedigree Is the Difference

Chicago has nabbed two Stanley Cups in the past five years and largely return the core group of veterans that have helped the team reach the sport's highest pinnacle. 

A nucleus of Kane, Toews and Keith should provide the Blackhawks with enough to outlast the younger Lightning, who have a chance to be overmatched by their opponents' experience in these big-match situations.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Stamkos has the best chance at changing the dynamic of this series, and he'll need a lot of help from his mates in order to take advantage of their home-ice advantage and perhaps steal a game in Chicago. 

Still, Bishop may be overmatched by what he is about to see in the Blackhawks' offense, and given how Crawford has played in each of the last two series, you have to give the 'Hawks the edge at goalie. 

This game does not have the makings of a seven-game series, but expect the Lightning to avoid a sweep. The all-too-experienced Blackhawks will win their third Stanley Cup since 2010 and do so in six.