Stars, Lightningmeet in Stanley Cup Final
The EDMONTON,ALBERTA— leaves are starting to change color aroundtheNHLplayoff bubble, and, at most, seven gamesremainbeforetheStanley Cup is handed out.
On Saturday night, two of the league’s southernmost teams begin a Stanley Cup Final like none other in the great white north when the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning face off in Game 1. The Texas and Florida heat thatwouldhavebeenaround in lateMay andJunehasbeen replaced by a chill in the air with teams from nontraditionalmarkets vying forhockey’sbiggestprizeinthenorthernmost city in the NHL.
“We don’t know what the temperature is outside becausewe’renever outside, so it doesn’tcomeinto play,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said from the confines of the bubble. “We’re 75, 80 degrees here all the time, so it’s perfect — perfect environment.”
The Stars and Lightning would take any environment for a chance towin the Cup.
Dallas players, coaches and staff have been here since July27, andTampaBayjoined them Sept. 5 after spending sixweeks in Toronto and flying cross-country.
Dallas has been waiting since finishing off the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Western Conference final Monday. Tampa Bay won the East on Thursday night by beating the New York Islanders in Game 6 of that series on Anthony Cirelli’s overtime winner.
It’s a quick turnaround for the Lightning, who don’t mind that for this opportunity.
“This is unlike any other StanleyCupfinalwherewe’d getdays rest,” coach JonCooper said. “If you were going to tell me, ‘Hey Coop, you get to play in the Stanley Cup final, you’re only going to get 45 hours to rest before the game, but you’re going to get to play in it,’ I’m taking that all day.”
The Stars coaching staff pre-scouted each potential opponent, with Rick Bowness and assistant John Stevens diving into the Lightning the past few days.
“We’ll bewell-prepared,” Bowness said. “There’ll be no surprises.”
Thisyearisfullofsurprises. After the Lightning skated off with the Prince ofWales Trophy for winning the East, Blake Coleman was asked abouthis journey frombeing traded in February with his pregnant wife two weeks from giving birth through to the bubble and said, “It’s beenkindof crazy, butwhose
2020 hasn’t been crazy?”
TheNHLisoneroundfrom capping its crazy season and crowning a champion. Some things to watch in the Dallas-Tampa Bay Stanley Cup Final:
Russian goalies
It’s the first time in NHL history that the final features twoRussian starting goaltenders. The Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy playedinthe final as a rookie in 2015, while the Stars’AntonKhudobinhadn’t started a playoff game until this year.
Nikolai Khabibulin is the only Russian goalie to win the Stanley Cupwhen he did so with Tampa Bay in 2004.
“I want both guys to win, but it’s impossible,” Khabibulin said. “I know both guys, so Iwish them bothwell and play the best that they can play and show what they can.”
Conn SmytheWatch
If the Lightning win it all, Vasilevskiy, defensemanVictor Hedman and forwards Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov all have strong cases to earn playoff MVP honors. For theStars, it could beKhudobinorcaptainJamie Benn, andtheirleadingscorer is actually defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
The21-year-oldFinnisplayingbeyondhisyearsandskating circles arounddefenders.
“When I was young kid, I was skating outdoors, so that’s where it’s coming from,” Heiskanen said. “I try to use it asmuch as I can and try to skate a lot with the puck and without it, so it helps inmy offensive game and defensive game.”
Mostly healthy
One thing that gave this unusual postseason the potential to produce some high-quality hockey is the time off to heal injuries unlike the usual grind after an 82-game regular season. The Lightning and Stars go into the final almost totally healthy, with a few notable exceptions.
While Tampa Bay got Point back after he missed two games in the Eastern Conference final with injury, wingerRadekFaksa isamong those considered “unfit to play” for Dallas. Bowness wouldn’t say if a few extra days off would allow Faksa — who could be seen with his left wristwrapped— toreturn to the lineup in the final.
Stars defenseman Stephen Johns hasn’t played since Aug. 11. Usual starting goalie Ben Bishop is skating again, though even if he’s healthy, the net probably belongs to Khudobin given theway the 34-year-old is playing.