A pair of teams with moderate Stanley Cup championship droughts will meet in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, with Game 1 between the Stars and Lightning dropping the puck Saturday evening in Edmonton.
The Stars have not won a Cup this century, with the last Dallas title coming in 1999 under head coach Ken Hitchcock and the team led by captain Derian Hatcher and multiple future Hall of Fame players including Mike Modano, Brett Hull, Joe Nieuwendyk and former Blackhawks goaltender Ed Belfour between the pipes. Dallas postseason run in 2020 came after the Stars had won just two playoff series in the prior 11 seasons and had missed out on the postseason eight times in that span.
The drought is a bit shorter in Tampa, with the Lightning winning their most recent Stanley Cup in 2004 with Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards and goaltender Nikoali Khabibulin — another former Blackhawk — leading the way. Unlike Dallas, though, Tampa has been a heavy participant in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in recent seasons. Tampa lost to the the Blackhawks in the 2015 Cup Final and were twice eliminated in the conference finals. But there was also last season’s stunning first-round sweep delivered by the Columbus Blue Jackets, who were coached by John Tortorella — the same coach who’d led the Lightning to the Cup in 2004.
Saturday, Sept. 19
Dallas at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m. (NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS)
*All times Central