NHL Playoff Bracket 2020: Updated Stanley Cup Final Schedule and Outlook

An atypical NHL season has come down to this. Following a four-and-a-half-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, 24 teams took part in an expanded postseason in two Canadian hub cities. Now, there are only two remaining: the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars.

On Saturday night, the Stanley Cup Final will get underway at Rogers Place in Edmonton, which will host the entire best-of-seven series. The Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in five games for the Western Conference title and had been waiting since Monday to find out their opponent. On Thursday, the Lightning beat the New York Islanders in six games for the Eastern Conference title.

This will be the first time that Dallas and Tampa Bay will go head-to-head for the Stanley Cup. The Stars last made it to the Final in 2000 and will be seeking their first Cup since 1999. The Lightning reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, but they haven't won it since 2004.

With the series about to get underway, here's a look at the schedule, along with the outlook for this matchup.

Stanley Cup Final Schedule

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Dallas Stars

Game 1: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC
Game 2: Monday at 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
Game 3: Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
Game 4: Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. ET, NBC
Game 5 (if necessary): Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. ET, NBC
Game 6 (if necessary): Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. ET, NBC
Game 7 (if necessary): Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET, NBC

Stanley Cup Final Outlook

It's been nearly eight months since the Lightning and Stars last played during this unorthodox campaign. They went head-to-head twice, and each game had a similar result.

On Dec. 19, the Stars notched a 4-3 overtime win. Dallas prevailed in overtime again on Jan. 27, getting a 3-2 victory.

A lot of time has passed since those matchups, but it wouldn't be surprising to see similar games play out in the Stanley Cup Final. And that wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the Stars and Lightning, who have each played plenty of close games since the playoffs started in August, including several OT contests.

Tampa is 14-5 this postseason and has yet to lose consecutive games. The only deficit it has faced came in the second round, when it lost Game 1 to the Boston Bruins. However, the Lightning responded with four straight victories to eliminate the Presidents' Trophy winners.

The only time Tampa Bay has played more than five games in a series was in the Eastern Conference Final. After notching a Game 6 win on Thursday, the Bolts will be back on the ice for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday.

"It's a quick turnaround, but as we've approached every series, we obviously make the adjustments we need to in our game plan," Tampa Bay defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said, according to NHL.com's David Satriano. "But at the end of the day, we focus on what we're putting out there, and we feel like our best effort is all we can ask for in the locker room and see how it plays out at that point."

Dallas faced some adversity early. It trailed twice in its opening-round series against the Calgary Flames before pulling out the victory in six games. Then, after taking a 3-1 lead over the Colorado Avalanche, the Stars went a full seven games in that series. But with the pressure on, they beat the Avalanche 5-4 in overtime in Game 7.

In the Western Conference Final, Dallas had its best showing yet by defeating the top-seeded Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

"We've got a great team," Stars captain Jamie Benn said, per Satriano. "Everyone's bought into their role. ... Probably one of the best teams, if not the best team I've played on. We just jell as a group. It's fun in that locker room, and we're going to try and keep this thing going."

One exciting matchup to watch in the Stanley Cup Final will be the goaltender battle between Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy and Dallas' Anton Khudobin. Both have been playing well this postseason, especially of late, which makes getting on the scoreboard first that bit more important.

The 2019-20 NHL season is finally almost at its conclusion. And this series between these top teams should be an exciting way to bring it to an end.