Stanley Cup Final 2018: Dates, Times and TV Info for Golden Knights vs. Capitals

It just might be the best sports story of the year. The Vegas Golden Knights, a first-year franchise assembled from the spare parts of the league's 30 other rosters in an expansion draft, are four wins away from doing what many thought was improbable, if not impossible: winning the Stanley Cup in year No. 1.

Only the Washington Capitals stand in their way, a team that is also looking for its first Stanley Cup. Except for them, it's year No. 44. They have found plenty of regular-season success in the Alexander Ovechkin era, only to come up agonizingly short in the playoffs. They finally broke a string of second-round exits this year.

One team has known nothing but success in the playoffs; the other knowing only pain as of late. 

All the games will be broadcast in the U.S. on NBC and on CBC in Canada. To live stream the action, check out NBCSports.com. Here's a look at the schedule for the championship series.

                    

2018 Stanley Cup Final Schedule

Game 1: May 28 at Vegas, 8 p.m. ET

Game 2: May 30 at Vegas, 8 p.m. ET

Game 3: June 2 at Washington, 8 p.m. ET

Game 4: June 4 at Washington, 8 p.m. ET

*Game 5: June 7 at Vegas, 8 p.m. ET

*Game 6: June 10 at Washington, 8 p.m. ET

*Game 7: June 13 at Vegas, 8 p.m. ET

*If necessary.

This could be an interesting Stanley Cup for Vegas general manager George McPhee, whose fingerprints are all over this Capitals team after serving as its general manager from 1997 to 2014. He knows everything about his current team, but he also will be keenly aware of just how dangerous his old squad is. It even looks like the city of Las Vegas is trying to help him out by banning "capitals" from the city:

Washington has had plenty of scoring punch this postseason, with Ovechkin leading the way with 12 goals and followed by center Evgeny Kuznetsov with 11. Only the Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele, recently ousted from the playoffs by Vegas, has scored more individual goals (14). 

As a team, Washington has scored the most total goals, with 66, and is sitting pretty with a 3.47 goals-per-game average. Make no mistake, their attack will be the toughest the Golden Knights have faced in these playoffs. Ovechkin is a terror with the puck, one of the best scorers the NHL has ever seen. Just look at him rocket in this shot in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning:

He's also incredibly physical, and as USA Today's Kevin Allen noted, he might be playing even more inspired hockey because of the collection of talent surrounding him:

"Today's Capitals seem to have more collective strength than Caps teams we've seen in the past. Everyone seems to understand and appreciate their roles. Ovechkin clearly sees that.  If you listen to him talk, you can feel the respect he has for this group. He's been a quality leader. He has driven hard to the net, barreled over opponents, blocked shots and scored goals. Maybe he's inspired by how well his teammates are playing."

The Golden Knights have been a bit less prolific on the scoring end. They boast a 2.87 goals-per-game average. Jonathan Marchessault leads the team with eight goals and 18 points, while William Karlsson has found the net seven times. He's done only a little scoring himself, but right winger Reilly Smith has been an integral part of the attack, racking up 14 assists in 15 postseason games. 

The Capitals might have the more explosive offense and certainly the most talented overall player in Ovechkin, but defense is where the Vegas Knights have separated themselves. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been nearly unbeatable for long stretches of this postseason. He's carrying a .947 save percentage and a playoff-best 1.55 goals-against average into this matchup with the Capitals.

John Locher/Associated Press

In the Western Conference Final against the Winnipeg Jets, the Golden Knights dropped the first game by a score of 4-2 but then didn't allow the Jets to score more than two goals in a game for the rest of the series.

They also showed a killer instinct against the San Jose Sharks in the previous round, winning Game 6 via a 3-0 shutout. Make no mistake, this cobbled-together team is ready to clamp down when the stakes are high.

The Capitals netminder is Braden Holtby, who might be peaking at the right time, posting back-to-back shutouts to stymie the Tampa Bay Lightning and help send his team through to the final. If Holtby and the Washington defensemen can find themselves up to the task, this could be a difficult series for the Golden Knights.