The 2020 Stanley Cup final is about to begin and the Dallas Stars or Tampa Bay Lightning will hold a Cup victory to end the NHL season, but it will take 4 wins in the series of seven for one of those groups to succeed at that point. .
The first game in the series will take place Saturday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton, which will host the entire Stanley Cup final. It is one of two arenas that the NHL has used as a bubble since the playoffs began in early August after four-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Lightnings are making their first appearance in the Stanley Cup final since 2015 and will win their first Cup since 2004. The stars reached the Stanley Cup final for the last time in 2000, and their last Victory in the Cup was in 1999.
Here’s everything you want to know before the series starts.
Final Stanley Cup 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 Five (if necessary): September 26 at 8 p. m. ET, NBCGame 6 (if necessary): September 28 at 8 p. m. ET, NBCGame 7 (if necessary): September 30 at 8 p. m. ET ET Nbc
Stanley Cup odds
Tampa Bay Lightning: -182 (bet $182 to win $100)
Dallas Stars: (bet $100 to win $)
Ratings received DraftKings
Stanley Cup final previews and predictions
According to Kevin Woodley of NHL. com, this will be the first time the Stanley Cup final will feature two beginner goalkeepers who have played for Russia internationally: Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay (born kazakhstan) and Anton Khudobin of Dallas, Russia. And that’s not the only thing those two have in common.
Vasilevskiy and Khudobin have played the playoffs well and are an integral part of the good fortune of their respective groups so far.
While Lightning had a 15-4 record in the playoffs (and has not yet lost consecutive games), Vasilevskiy started in one’s games, recording an Array931 save percentage and 1. 82 goals, counter-average. Eastern Conference final games against the New York Islanders, adding two in overtime.
No wonder Vasilevskiy, 26, had a good fortune in the playoffs because he had an Array917 save percentage and an average of 2. 56 goals against him in 52 regular-season games.
“He’s the most productive goalkeeper in the league,” Lightning’s defenseman Victor Hedman told the media on Friday (h/t Sportsnet). “No questions. He’s a great competitor there; never left the game. one bleached each and every night; we know it and we’re looking to help you do it. “
Khudobin has started 18 of the 21 Stars games in this playoff, including his recent hot streak After winning 5-4 in Game 7 of his second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche, they beat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the Western Conference finals.
And that’s when Khudobin, 34, (save percentage of . 920 and 2. 62 goals, versus the average in the playoffs) shone more. He has allowed only 8 goals in five games against Las Vegas, and three of them came here in a 3-0 defeat in Game 2. In Dallas’ last three victories, Khudobin has allowed only five goals. and recorded 104 stops.
With the way Vasilevskiy and Khudobin have been betting lately, don’t be surprised if the first game of the Stanley Cup final is a matter of low score and competition. These groups haven’t faced each other since January and are probably going to feel on the ice as well. Meanwhile, any of the goalkeepers deserve to accumulate stops and keep things attractive to the end.
But whoever wins the first game deserves the momentum and confidence to win the series, and will be Khudobin’s stars.
Lightning has been recently hit and haven’t had that much time to rest after the last circular of the conference. They last played Thursday night, while the Stars have rested since Monday night.
It will be a competitive series, and Vasilevskiy and Khudobin will have their moments to shine. However, Dallas got off to a smart start and retained victory in six or seven games, winning its first Stanley Cup in more than two decades.