NHL Playoff Bracket 2020: Stanley Cup Final Schedule, Odds and Predictions

The 2020 Stanley Cup Final is about to get underway, and before long, either the Dallas Stars or Tampa Bay Lightning will be celebrating a Cup victory to end the NHL season. But it will take four wins in the best-of-seven series for one of those teams to reach that point.

Game 1 of the series is set to take place Saturday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton, which will host the entire Stanley Cup Final. It's been one of the two arenas that the NHL has used as a bubble since the postseason began in early August following a four-and-a-half-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Lightning are making their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2015 and will be looking to win their first Cup since 2004. The Stars last reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2000, with their last Cup win coming in 1999.

Here's everything else you need to know before the series gets underway.

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: Friday 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 Odds

Tampa Bay Lightning: -182 (bet $182 to win $100)

Dallas Stars: +160 (bet $100 to win $160)

Odds obtained via DraftKings

Stanley Cup Final Preview and Predictions

According to NHL.com's Kevin Woodley, this will be the first time that the Stanley Cup Final features a pair of starting goaltenders who have played for Russia at the international level: Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy (born in Kazakhstan) and Dallas' Anton Khudobin (Russia). And that's not the only thing that these two have in common.

Vasilevskiy and Khudobin have both played well throughout the postseason and are integral parts of their respective team's success so far.

While the Lightning have gone 15-4 this postseason (and have yet to lose consecutive games), Vasilevskiy has started each of those contests, posting a .931 save percentage and a 1.82 goals-against average. He allowed only four goals over the final three games of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Islanders, two of which went to overtime.

It's not a surprise that the 26-year-old Vasilevskiy has had postseason success, as he had a .917 save percentage and a 2.56 goals-against average in 52 games during the regular season.

"He's the best goalie in the league," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman told the media Friday (h/t Sportsnet). "There's no questions asked. He's such a competitor back there; he's never out of a play. He wants to have a shutout every night—we know that, and we're trying to help him accomplish that."

Khudobin has started 18 of the Stars' 21 games this postseason, which includes their recent hot stretch. After pulling out a 5-4 win in overtime in Game 7 of their second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, they beat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the Western Conference Final.

And that was when the 34-year-old Khudobin (.920 save percentage and 2.62 goals-against average this postseason) shined the most. He allowed only eight goals in the five games against Vegas, and three of those came in a 3-0 loss in Game 2. Over Dallas' final three wins, Khudobin allowed only five goals and recorded 104 saves.

With how well Vasilevskiy and Khudobin have been playing of late, don't be surprised if Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is a low-scoring, competitive affair. These teams haven't played each other since January, and they'll also likely be feeling each other out on the ice. Meanwhile, the two goaltenders should rack up saves and keep things interesting until the end.

But whichever team comes out on top in Game 1 should get the momentum and confidence boosts to go on to win the series. And that will be Khudobin's Stars.

The Lightning have been banged up recently, and they didn't get as much time to rest following the conference-final round. They last played Thursday night, while the Stars got to rest since Monday night.

It will be a competitive series, and both Vasilevskiy and Khudobin will have their moments to shine. However, Dallas will get off to a strong start and hold on to win the series in six or seven games, capturing its first Stanley Cup in more than two decades.