We don’t know who’s in or where it will begin, but we do know this -- the 2016 Stanley Cup Final will begin next Monday.
From the league:
The National Hockey League today announced the schedule of dates for the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, which will begin on Monday, May 30. Additionally, Stanley Cup Final Media Day will be Sunday, May 29, in the host city for Game 1.
The Stanley Cup Final will match the winner of the Eastern Conference Final, either the Pittsburgh Penguins or Tampa Bay Lightning, against the winner of the Western Conference Final, either the St. Louis Blues or San Jose Sharks.
The club which earned the greater number of points in the 2015-16 regular season standings will have home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Final and will host Games 1, 2 and, if necessary, Games 5 and 7. The other club will host Games 3 and 4 and, if necessary, Game 6. The Blues collected 107 points during the regular season, most among the remaining teams, followed by the Penguins (104), Sharks (98) and Lightning (97).
The start time for all Stanley Cup Final games will be 8 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Group has exclusive coverage of the Final in the U.S., while CBC and TVA Sports have exclusive coverage throughout Canada.
2016 STANLEY CUP FINAL SCHEDULE (all start times 8 p.m., ET)
Game 1 Monday, May 30 Game 2 Wednesday, June 1 Game 3 Saturday, June 4 Game 4 Monday, June 6 Game 5* Thursday, June 9 Game 6* Sunday, June 12 Game 7* Wednesday, June 15
Note two off/travel days between Games 2 & 3/4 & 5/ 5 & 6 / 6&7.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) May 24, 2016
This marks the first time the Stanley Cup Final will begin in May since 2012, when the Kings took on the Devils in New Jersey (on the 30th).
L.A. went on to capture that series in six games, wrapping things up on June 11.