Avalanche:56-19-7, 119 points
Lightning: 51-23-8, 110 points
Season series: COL 2-0; TBL 0-1-1
Game 1: Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+, ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS)
The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to win the Stanley Cup for a third consecutive season when they play the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Lightning would be the first team to win three times in a row since the New York Islanders won the Cup four straight seasons from 1980-83. The Avalanche last won the Cup in 2001.
"Just sitting up here right now and thinking of the magnitude of going to a third Stanley Cup Final," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "You grow up as a kid and I was not near good enough to play in this league, but when you're growing up in Canada, you always dream about having your name on a Stanley Cup. To get there the first time was a dream come true. To get there a second time, the next year, it was a dream. To go a third time is unthinkable."
Tampa Bay defeated the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final to advance.
Colorado will end up waiting nine days after it completed a four-game sweep of the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final on June 6. They Avalanche had an eight-day layoff after they swept the Nashville Predators in the first round.
"Coaches do a good job of making sure we're working, getting the work in and it is good to get a little bit of a rest, but we've been through this already in these playoffs where we've had time to get ready for a series," Avalanche forward J.T. Compher said. "It's just keeping your mind in it. you have a little time to relax, but just mentally making sure you're refreshed and focused on the goal ahead."
RELATED: [2022 Stanley Cup Final schedule | Stanley Cup Final coverage]
The Avalanche won both regular-season games against the Lightning. Forward Gabriel Landeskog (two goals, one assist) had three points in two games against them and forward Nathan MacKinnon had three points (one goal, two assists) in one game. Goalie Darcy Kuemper was 2-0 with a 2.40 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
Forward Brayden Point led the Lightning with three points (two goals, one assist) in two games against the Avalanche. Forwards Steven Stamkos (one goal, one assist) and Ondrej Palat (two assists) each had two points. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was 0-1-1 with a 2.96 GAA and .919 save percentage in two starts.
Point has a lower-body injury and has not played since Game 7 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cooper wasn't sure of Point's status for Game 1 but said it's "extremely probable" that Point plays in the series.