Lightning vs Blackhawks

TAMPA -- The Chicago Blackhawks have staked claim to the title of best franchise in the salary-cap era, but four more wins in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs will put them in some exclusive company.

Chicago faces the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, which begins Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports). If the Blackhawks prevail, it will be their third championship in six seasons.

Five franchises have accomplished that in NHL history. The Detroit Red Wings were the most recent, winning in 1997, 1998 and 2002. The Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders did so in the 1980s. The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are the other teams to win the Cup three times in a six-season span.

Chicago nearly had a chance to win three times in five years, but it lost Game 7 in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014 Western Conference Final and then had to watch the Kings dispatch the New York Rangers in a five-game Cup Final.

The Lightning should be a more formidable opponent. The Blackhawks should still be the favorite. Here are five reasons:

The Tampa Bay Lightning have already made history in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs by becoming the first team to defeat three Original Six teams to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Four more wins and they'll break that record.

The Lightning defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games, the Montreal Canadiens in six, and the New York Rangers in seven to earn their chance to compete against the Chicago Blackhawks for the Stanley Cup. They even have home-ice advantage.

Game 1 is Wednesday at Amalie Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

In defeating the Canadiens, the Lightning knocked off a team that lost the Eastern Conference Final last season. In defeating the Rangers, they dethroned last year's Eastern Conference champs (New York defeated Montreal in six games in the 2014 conference final).

If the Lightning are to win the Stanley Cup, they'll have to defeat a team that closest represents a modern-day dynasty. The Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup twice and have made four trips, including three in a row, to the Western Conference Final since 2010.

It'll be challenging, no doubt, but the Lightning certainly have the wherewithal to defeat the Blackhawks four times in two weeks. Here are five reasons:

Goaltending plays an integral part in the Stanley Cup Playoffs so NHL.com broke down the Stanley Cup Final battle between Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks and Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Today the focus is on Crawford.

Much like many goaltending coaches do before a series, NHL.com correspondent Kevin Woodley, the managing editor of InGoal Magazine, charted every goal scored with the help of a program from Double Blue Sport Analytics. Regular-season goals were recorded in their original Save Review System, and playoff goals, including how they were scored, were tracked in the soon-to-launch SRS 2.0. The graphics showing where goals went in and shots were taken from are nice, but the real value is analyzing the plays that led to them and whether they reveal strengths, weaknesses and tendencies that can be targeted.

The Chicago Blackhawks might feel like they're looking at a younger version of themselves when they step onto the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

Each team is driven by star power. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Corey Crawford have carried the Blackhawks through three rounds in the Western Conference, including a 5-3 victory against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of the conference final on Saturday. Tampa Bay's top-six forwards, led by the "Triplets" line of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, and captain Steven Stamkos, have scored more than 80 percent of the Lightning's goals in the first three rounds, and Ben Bishop leads all goaltenders in this year's playoffs with three shutouts, including 2-0 victories on the road in Game 5 and Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers.

Each team relies on speed and puck possession but can shut down opponents when the game is on the line. Chicago is 32-0-0 in the regular season and playoffs when leading after two periods. The Lightning are 9-0-0 this spring when scoring first, and each of Bishop's three shutouts has been a 2-0 win.

The one major edge Chicago has is postseason experience; the core of this team won Stanley Cup in 2010 and 2013. Tampa Bay hasn't made the Final since 2004, when it won its only championship.

The Lightning have won three playoff rounds for the first time in a decade, but Bishop knows there's still much left to do.

ANAHEIM — Brad Richards knew when the conference finals were set if the Chicago Blackhawks advanced to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, it was going to be an interesting opponent for him.

He was either going to face the organization that cast him aside less than a year ago, the New York Rangers, or the one where he became a Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Richards found out Friday it would be the Lightning and then helped the Blackhawks reach the Cup Final with two points in a 5-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final at Honda Center on Saturday.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League announced today the schedule for the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, which begins Wednesday, June 3, in Tampa Bay.

Based on their superior regular-season point total, the Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning will host Games One and Two of the best-of-seven Final, as well as Games Five and Seven, if necessary.

Games Three and Four, as well as Game Six, if necessary, will be hosted by the Western Conference Champion Chicago Blackhawks.

In the U.S., NBC will broadcast Games One and Two of the Final and, if necessary, Games Five through Seven. NBCSN will telecast Games Three and Four.

In Canada, CBC and TVA Sports will televise the entire series.

The Chicago Blackhawks advanced to their third Stanley Cup Final in six seasons with a 5-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final on Saturday.

Chicago will play the Tampa Bay Lightning, which defeated the New York Rangers in seven games in the Eastern Conference Final.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is Wednesday at Amalie Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports). Tampa Bay has home-ice advantage because it had six more points than Chicago during the regular season (108-102).

"Another great test," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews told NBC of the Lightning. "If we can remember the other games we had against them this regular season, if that's any sort of foreshadowing, it's going to be a tough one. But we'll be ready for 'em."