NHL Playoffs 2019: Viewing Information and Odds for Stanley Cup Final

There are several key factors to having success in the NHL playoffs; staying hot, staying healthy and playing above-average hockey are all important. Add all of those together, and it's possible to end the season by winning the Stanley Cup.

The Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues have done all of those things well this postseason, which has led to those teams reaching the Stanley Cup Final. But before taking the ice to battle for the Cup, the teams will have the weekend off, as the series doesn't start until Monday night.

Here's a look at what you need to know as the Stanley Cup Final gets ready to begin.

Stanley Cup Final Schedule

All times ET. All games can be streamed live on NBC Sports Live.

Game 1: St. Louis at Boston, May 27 at 8 p.m., NBC

Game 2: St. Louis at Boston, May 29 at 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network

Game 3: Boston at St. Louis, June 1 at 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network

Game 4: Boston at St. Louis, June 3 at 8 p.m., NBC

Game 5: St. Louis at Boston, June 6 at 8 p.m., NBC (if necessary)

Game 6: Boston at St. Louis, June 9 at 8 p.m., NBC (if necessary)

Game 7: St. Louis at Boston, June 12 at 8 p.m., NBC (if necessary)

Stanley Cup Final Odds

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The Bruins took the ice for a game Thursday night, but it wasn't the opener of the Stanley Cup Final. Instead, it was an intrasquad scrimmage designed to keep the team fresh during its long layoff between series.

Boston's last competitive game was May 16, when it completed a four-game sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. After 10 days off, the Bruins will finally return to competitive action when they open the Stanley Cup Final at home against St. Louis on Monday night.

However, Thursday's scrimmage was at least a chance for Bruins players to participate in something outside of a typical practice, as fans filled TD Garden to watch their team get ready for its chance to win its first Cup since 2011.

"I think it was good," Boston goalie Tuukka Rask said, according to NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin. "Guys seemed to be huffing and puffing when they came out. I think once you go 10 days no playing, I think it's good to get a little action in, get used to that pace. I think that's what we wanted to accomplish, and it looked good."

Most importantly, the Bruins came out of the scrimmage healthy. According to Benjamin, Brad Marchand held his left hand and wrist after a play, but coach Bruce Cassidy later said the forward was fine. Center David Krejci didn't play because he was sent home with a fever.

Boston may still come out slow in the Stanley Cup Final as it looks to shake off the rust, but perhaps Thursday's scrimmage will help minimize those effects and help the Bruins get reacclimatized to competitive action.

Meanwhile, the Blues didn't end their Western Conference Final series against the San Jose Sharks until Tuesday.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Tom Timmermann, they took off Wednesday and had only off-ice work on Thursday as they prepare to return to practice Friday.

"We'll get some practice time in," St. Louis head coach Craig Berube said. "But rest is important too coming off the series. The series were long, physical series. We're going to take a couple days to recover a little bit. Then we'll get back at it."

The most notable injured player the Blues are dealing with is defenseman Vince Dunn, who missed the final three games of the Western Conference Final after he took a puck to the face in Game 3 of the series. Per Timmermann, Berube said Dunn is doing well and could return to the ice Friday.

With the Stanley Cup Final not set to get underway until Monday, both teams have time to prepare, rest and heal up before battling for the title to end the NHL season.