Stanley Cup Final schedule is set as Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens prepare to do battle

Get ready for the NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens.

We’re standing on the precipice of an unreal couple of weeks in sport with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens about to start the Stanley Cup Final, while the NBA Finals is on the horizon and the baseball season is starting to get interesting too.

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Of course, we’re a hockey site and our focus and interest lies with the greatest show on the planet, which gets underway on Monday in Tampa as the Lightning look to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions, while the Canadiens will hope to continue to shock the world by winning their first championship since 1993.

This wasn’t a matchup that anyone expected or predicted, but it is perhaps fitting that it is a showdown we are getting in this the strangest of years in the long and rich history of the National Hockey League.

Both teams boast elite and red-hot goalies in Carey Price (Montreal) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay), while the Lightning boast an abundance of star power and firepower as opposed to the Canadiens who are proving that character, grit and determination can carry you a long way in hockey.

There will be some intriguing matchups to keep an eye on too, including the battle between the pipes, the surging Brayden Point against the experienced Shea Weber and the Lightning’s array of weapons against Montreal’s depth and young guns.

It is shaping up to be a mouthwatering series and one that should captivate the entire hockey world, and we will be breaking it down in depth in the buildup to Game 1 and throughout the series.

However, for now, clear your calendars and mark the key dates below because it is Stanley Cup Final time and your loved ones will understand if you are a little bit distracted for the next couple of weeks.

The Montreal Canadiens celebrate the game-winning overtime goal. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Full 2021 Stanley Cup Final Schedule between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens

All times are ET.

Game 1: Canadiens at Lightning, Mon. June 28, 8 p.m. (NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVAS)

Game 2: Canadiens at Lightning, Wed. June 30, 8 p.m. (NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVAS)

Game 3: Lightning at Canadiens, Fri. July 2, 8 p.m. (NBC, SN, CBC, TVAS)

Game 4: Lightning at Canadiens, Mon. July 5, 8 p.m. (NBC, SN, CBC, TVAS)

Game 5: Canadiens at Lightning, Wed. July 7, 8 p.m. (NBC, SN, CBC, TVAS)*

Game 6: Lightning at Canadiens, Fri. July 9, 8 p.m. (NBC, SN, CBC, TVAS)*

Game 7: Canadiens at Lightning, Sun. July 11, 7 p.m. (NBC, SN, CBC, TVAS)*

*IF NECESSARY

So, there you have it, that is the full schedule for the 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final and it should be two weeks of great and compelling hockey, unless of course one team sweeps the series, but that seems unlikely given the makeup of these two teams.

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It should be a Final that goes right down to the wire and for those without a dog in the fight, and for hockey purists in general, it promises to be a fitting conclusion to what has been a wild 2020-21 season, and time will tell if the Tampa Bay Lightning can become the first team since the Pittsburgh Penguins (2015-16, 2016-17) to repeat as champions, or if the Montreal Canadiens can finally bring a championship back to Canada and end that country’s pain when it comes to lack of recent success in the NHL.

All we can say – Bring. It. On!

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