The Vegas Golden Knights have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals and will compete for the ultimate trophy to cap off what has been an extraordinary inaugural season. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series will be next Monday, May 28, though Vegas’ opponent has not yet been determined. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals will square off in a winner-takes-all Game 7 Wednesday night.
The location for Game 1 has also yet to be determined. Should Tampa Bay win, the Lightning will have home-ice advantage in the final. If Washington wins, the Golden Knights will host Games 1 and 2 at T-Mobile Arena.
The Knights went 2-0-0 against both Tampa Bay and Washington in the regular season. The Dec. 19 meeting against Tampa Bay was one of Vegas’ most memorable games of the year as Shea Theodore’s buzzer-beater gave the Knights a 4-3 win with three seconds left in the game; the Knights then handed Tampa Bay a 4-1 loss nearly a month later. Vegas beat the Capitals 3-0 at T-Mobile Arena for Marc-Andre Fleury’s first shutout as a Golden Knight and then came out on top in a back-and-forth matchup in Washington, which resulted in a 4-3 win as Alex Tuch netted the game-winner late in the third.
The Lightning defeated both the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins in five games through the first two rounds of the playoffs, while Washington eliminated both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. Should Tampa Bay win, the Lightning will make the franchise’s third Stanley Cup appearance and second in four seasons. Tampa Bay defeated the Calgary Flames in seven games in 2004 to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup but fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in 2015. The Capitals were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 1998 in the franchise’s only Stanley Cup appearance.
Stanley Cup Finals Schedule: Golden Knights vs. Lightning/Capitals
Game 1 — May 28 – 5 p.m. PT
Game 2 — May 30 – 5 p.m. PT
Game 3 — June 2 – 5 p.m. PT
Game 4 — June 4 – 5 p.m. PT
Game 5 (if necessary) — June 7 – 5 p.m. PT
Game 6 (if necessary) — June 10 – 5 p.m. PT
Game 7 (if necessary) — June 13 – 5 p.m. PT