'Quest for the Stanley Cup' goes behind scenes of conference finals

During the third episode of "Quest for the Stanley Cup," which premieres Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the United States and on
YouTube
in Canada, viewers get an all-access look at the fierce competition in the conference finals, and also the mental toll of life inside the Stanley Cup Playoff bubble.

Robin Lehner has openly talked about his struggles with depression and anxiety over the past two seasons. This week, the Vegas Golden Knights goalie provides some insight into how he's dealt with being isolated from most of the outside world since arriving in Edmonton, the hub city for Western Conference playoffs, conference finals and Stanley Cup Final, on July 26.
"I found a good regiment, stay in touch with my psychiatrist fairly often and it's a pretty good setup with the team, too and I'm staying on my medication and try to stay positive," Lehner tells an NHL Original Productions camera crew. "There's not a one-thing-fits-all in the mental illness spectrum and I think you've got to have an open mind of trying new things. That's the biggest tip that I can give is read a lot, try to educate yourself."
By educating himself and others about mental illness, Lehner's has garnered respect among his peers. That work contributed to him winning the Masterton Trophy last season as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
"These guys are human beings and they deal with a lot of stress," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer says during the episode. "I think Robin is going to go down as a pioneer in this area. He's been talking about this for years. You don't see it daily, but he's very aware of it and he's not afraid to tell you if he's having a bad day."

Lehner was one of the central characters in Vegas' run to the Western Conference Final, which ended with a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 5 against the Dallas Stars on Monday. This episode covers the first four games of that series and the Eastern Conference Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders.
The Stars' wins in Game 3 (3-2 in overtime) and Game 4 (2-1) put them on them on the brink of their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2000. Viewers see Dallas goalie Anton Khudobin tease forward Alexander Radulov after he scored the overtime winner in Game 3, awarding the Stars player of the game chain to "the guy who has a terrible shot."
On a day off between Game 2 and Game 3 of the Eastern Final, the Lightning take a trip to Commonwealth Stadium, home of the Edmonton Football Team of the Canadian Football League, and enjoy a break from hockey by playing soccer, softball and football. It turns out Victor Hedman, a finalist again for the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL, is also good at kicking field goals.
The Islanders won 5-3 in Game 3, but the Lightning rebounded with a 4-1 victory in Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
"We keep inching our way closer," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper tells his players in the postgame locker room. "We still got one more to go, though, and as we always say, the next one's the hardest one."