The final NHL series of the 2021-22 season has arrived. The Stanley Cup Final begins on Wednesday and the Tampa Bay Lightning will battle the Colorado Avalanche to see who will be the NHL Champion. Game 1 will air on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET and will air on ABC and ESPN+.
All games from the Stanley Cup Final will air on ABC and ESPN+ and will start at 8 p.m. ET. Game 2 will be played on Saturday, June 18, Game 3 will be on Monday, June 20 and Game 4 will be on Wednesday, June 22. If necessary, Game 5 will be on Friday, June 24, Game 6 will be on Sunday, June 26 and Game 7 will be on Tuesday, June 28.
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The Lightning are back in the Final for the third consecutive year. They have won the last two Stanley Cups and finished with 110 points in the standings, the most for the team since the 2018-2019 season when they finished with 128. Lightning player Pat Maroon is looking to be the first player in nearly 40 years to win the Stanley Cup four seasons in a row. Before joining the Lighting, Maroon was with the St. Louis Blues and won the Stanley Cup there in 2019.
“One seems crazy to me,” Maroon said, per NHL.com. “Just to be a part of one is remarkable. There are guys that go years and play in the NHL 10, 12 years and don’t even get to the Stanley Cup Final let alone get to the conference final. It’s the hardest trophy to win in all sports, and to just win one is remarkable and crazy to me.
“And my first one with my hometown team. It’s crazy about what our Tampa Bay Lightning have been through. There’s no give up in our team. We give it everything we’ve got every single night, and that’s why our team’s had success these last few years.”
The Avalanche are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. In their history, the Avalanche have won three conference titles and two Stanley Cups. For the 2021-22 season, Colorado finished the regular season with a 56-19-7 record with 119 points. Mikko Rantanen led the Avalanche with 92 points (36 goals and 56 assists).
