How to watch the Lightning play Dallas in the Stanley Cup final

It’s been almost a year since the season started, but it’s finally reaching the end and the Lightning are playing for the Stanley Cup.

The Lightning will take on Dallas in the first-ever Cup final between two Southern teams.

It’s Andrei Vasilevskiy against his former netmate, Ben Bishop. It’s Jon Cooper against his former associate coach, Rick Bowness.

Here’s how to watch

Game 1: Saturday, Sept. 19, Dallas won 4-1

Game 2: Monday, Sept. 21, Tampa Bay won 3-2

Game 3: Wednesday, Sept. 23, Tampa Bay won 5-2

Game 4: Friday, Sept. 25, Tampa Bay won 5-4 in overtime

Game 5: Saturday, Sept. 26, Dallas won 3-2 in double overtime

Game 6: Monday, Sept. 28 (8 p.m., NBC)

Game 7:* Wednesday, Sept. 30 (8 p.m., NBC)

* — if necessary

Did you miss anything?

Game 6 coverage of the Stanley Cup final:

Stamkos out: Steven Stamkos has played his last game of the 2020 postseason with Cooper ruling him out for the remainder of the series. But will it be the last time Lightning fans see him on the ice?

‘Can’t catch a break': Lightning fans react to the captain’s news.

Game 5 coverage of the Stanley Cup final:

Another overtime: The Stars extended the Stanley Cup final series with a Game 5 win over the Lightning.

Stars duo gives team a boost: Corey Perry and Joe Pavelski aren’t ready to go home yet, helping their team to a Game 5 win with a combined six goals in the series.

No need to panic, maybe: It’s 2020, but Lightning fans may recall 2018. And 2016. Oh, and 2015, too.

Old friends: Lightning fans won’t see the Ben Bishop-Andrei Vasilevskiy matchup they’ve been waiting for in Game 5.

Finding his mojo, again: Alex Killorn logged his fifth goal of the postseason and first in 10 games to help his team to a Game 4 win.

‘One more win’: Lightning fans are ready for Lord Stanley to get his tan on in Tampa Bay.

An unusual path: Cooper’s path to this year’s Stanley Cup final was unusual, but there’s one constant in his career.

Breaking the other team’s heart: With one victory left to hoist the Stanley Cup, the Lightning seem to have found an answer to every hurdle they’ve faced.

Stamkos status: Steven Stamkos was ruled out for Game 5 against the Stars, which means the captain won’t play in the potential Stanley-Cup clinching game.

Fans can’t stay away: On the one-year anniversary of the Lightning’s preseason game against the Panthers, Lightning fans couldn’t stay away from Thunder Alley and Amalie Arena for the potential Stanley Cup-clinching game.

Game 4 coverage of the Stanley Cup final:

Not fazed: The Lightning and Stars weren’t fazed by the idea of a back-to-back in the Stanley Cup final.

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A questionable call: Brayden Point was called for embellishment in Game 4 after Dallas' Corey Perry high-sticked the Lightning center in-between the legs.

Creating their own luck: How’d Tampa Bay fare in Game 4? They found a way to win when everything seemed like it was going against them.

Out of the lineup: Lightning captain Steven Stamkos was ruled out for Game 4, but is questionable for Game 5.

Where’s the back-up? Curtis McElhinney knows his role on this Lightning roster, even if it means not seeing a single minute of playing time in the team’s postseason run.

Conn Smythe talk: Who’s in the lead for the the postseason MVP award? There’s at least four reasonable candidates.

Stamkos' return for fortuitous if nothing else: Only once in the past 40 years has a team won the Stanley Cup without its captain playing in a single postseason game. And Stamkos' 2:47 ice time brought that to the forefront.

Viewership down: This year’s postseason viewership is much lower than in 2019 and the Lightning’s last Cup final trip in 2015.

Game 3 coverage of the Stanley Cup final:

The captain’s return was brief, but magical: Stamkos made his 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs debut on Wednesday night. And one of the benefits to these pandemic times was everyone at home watching him.

Lightning’s core stays strong: The Lightning’s core players made the difference Wednesday night. Key contributions down the roster played a critical role in how the team managed without Stamkos for two periods.

‘Literally have chills’: See how Lightning fans reacted to Stamkos' return to play on Twitter ahead of Game 3.

‘Shoot!’: One Lightning fan and his friends screamed so loud at the Tampa apartment television that neighbors called the police. But the fan was screaming at the Lightning to ‘shoot’ the puck.

Rutta makes an impact: Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta hadn’t played in 47 days, but you wouldn’t know it just watching him play in Games 2 and 3 against the Stars.

Two away: After scoring a power play goal on Wednesday, cornerstone defenseman Victor Hedman is two goals away from tying the league’s record for goals scored by a blueliner in a single postseason. And he isn’t the only one making history on the Lightning’s roster.

Game 2 coverage of the Stanley Cup final:

Consistency on the blueline: Defenseman Ryan McDonagh might not be as flashy on the scoreboard like some of his other teammates, but his presence and value is immeasurable.

Staying on his game: Nikita Kucherov is a target for any team, but he isn’t letting Dallas take him off his game.

A fine line: The Lightning briefly teetered on the line of chaos, but chose to be smart when it came down to a physical game against the Stars.

A power play goal at last: Not only did the Lightning break an 0-for-15 streak with a power play goal in Monday’s win, but the special team’s unit scored two power play goals in Game 2.

The grades are in: Tampa Bay was given at least an A- in all but three categories from Monday night’s win.

Getting physical: The Lightning and Stars matchup heated up quickly with a mid-game scrum ensuing in a combined five penalties on Monday night.

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A different look: Jan Rutta and Carter Verhaeghe joined the Lightning lineup on Monday night as Tampa Bay went back to 12-6 for the first time since Game 1 against the Boston Bruins in Round 2.

No hardware: Hedman was nominated for his fourth-straight Norris Trophy and Andrei Vasilevskiy was nominated for his third-straight Vezina Trophy, but neither took home those honors this year in the annual NHL Awards.

Game 1 coverage of the Stanley Cup final:

Where’s Stamkos? The Lightning’s captain has yet to make his 2020 postseason debut, but the team isn’t ruling him out for the Cup final series.

Star-like defense: Dallas' defense was one of the Lightning’s many problems on Saturday night. And it’s something they’ll need to make adjustments on for Game 2.

Getting recognized: Andrei Vasilevskiy is up for his third-straight Vezina and Hedman is up for his fourth-straight Noris Trophy. Will they take home the hardware, again?

Dallas' stars: Joel Kiviranta, Jamie Oleksiak and Joel Hanley are the unlikely heroes, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that if you’ve only been watching Dallas during the postseason.

Hot goaltender or bad omen? Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin made some incredible saves in Game 1, and Tampa Bay needs to figure out a plan for getting pucks past him in Game 2, assuming it wasn’t just a one-game performance.

The grades: Pat Maroon’s 10-minute penalty was a dumb decision by the Lightning forward, but Tampa Bay’s shot volume in the third period of Game 1 was a good sign.

Here’s our preview of the Stanley Cup final:

Where’s Ben Bishop? The former Lightning goaltender is in his second Stanley Cup final — his last being in 2015 — but he’s not playing. Where’s he at?

Making a difference: Pat Maroon brings many qualities to the Lightning. And one of the most important ones is the fact he’s the only player on the Lightning roster with Stanley Cup experience.

$1 Million Milestone: Even in hard times, the Lightning’s Community Heroes program has continued to make an impact in the postseason. A $400,000 donation for the final round of 2020 playoffs was split across eight local non-profits.

Getting excited: Lightning fans showed their pride for the home team at a drive-thru pep rally in Tampa.

Then and now: This is a different, more experienced — and they hope better — team than the 2015 edition of the Lightning. Here’s what they learned between then and now.

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Welcome: So you’ve never watched hockey before but you want to check out the Lightning in the Stanley Cup final? We have a guide for you.

Something to prove: The Lightning added a few free agents who had chips on their shoulders to match the team’s. Kevin Shattenkirk is sick of watching his former teams win the Cup. He wants it himself.

Hey, we know you: Rick Bowness was the Lightning assistant coach for five years. Now he coaches Dallas. Everyone shares nice comments about each other and says that it’s not a thing, but is it really?

Distant Thunder: This run is bittersweet for fans who wish they were enjoying it in person. But they’re finding ways to create a game atmosphere at home. Oh, and the Lightning held a drive-thru pep rally where Sonya Bryson-Kirksey interacted with fans for the first time since March.

Same here: Jeff Vinik knows how the fans feel. He may own the team, but he’s watching from home too. And there’s no talking while the game is on.

The captain: Will Stamkos play? Not yet.

Here’s our coverage out of the Eastern Conference final win:

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One more overtime: The Lightning have clinched each series in overtime. Pat Maroon has no more fingernails.

The hero: Anthony Cirelli got hurt early in the game, but returned to score the game-winner. Just like he did in two major tournaments as a juniors player.

No superstition here: Some teams don’t like to touch the conference finals trophies. Superstition didn’t work for the Lightning in 2015, so they’re not worried about it in 2020.

A long year: The Lightning were the butt of a lot of jokes a year ago. But look at them now.

Report card: How do the Lightning win games? Let me count the ways.

He’s back: The Lightning lost the two games without Point but he was back last night.

Outside looking in: There are no games in Amalie Arena, but the fans are still cheering along outside.

Reaction: Both #HockeyTwitter and more specifically #LightningTwitter sure enjoyed this one.