Pittsburgh Penguins

Stanley Cup Final 2018: Match-ups, schedule, betting odds

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost their chance to make history by winning three Stanley Cups in a row when they lost to the Washington Capitals in the second round, but history will still be made in the 2018 Stanley Cup final – one way or the other.

The Capitals have never won the Stanley Cup in their 44 years in the NHL, while the expansion Vegas Golden Knights would become the first expansion team in the history of professional sports to win the championship in their inaugural season.

Vegas is led by Pittsburgh Penguins fan favorite goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who the Golden Knights selected in the expansion draft from Pittsburgh after playing a major part in the team’s second of back-to-back Stanley Cups.

On the other side, Washington – a division rival of the Penguins – is captained by Alex Ovechkin, who escaped the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.

However, the Russian winger has never gotten past a team with Fleury as its goaltender, which serves as a very interesting storyline going into the Stanley Cup Final.

Game 1 is set for Monday at 8 p.m. in Las Vegas, and each game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. as well.

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Below is the schedule released for each game. You can watch every game minus Games 2 and 3 on Channel 11!

2018 Stanley Cup Schedule

Game 1: Monday, May 28 at Las Vegas (8 p.m. EDT, NBC)

Game 2: Wednesday, May 30 at Las Vegas (8 p.m. EDT, NBC Sports Network)

Game 3: Saturday, June 2 at Washington (8 p.m. EDT, NBC Sports Network)

Game 4: Monday, June 4 at Washington (8 p.m. EDT, NBC)

Game 5: Thursday, June 7 at Las Vegas (8 p.m. EDT, NBC)*

Game 6: Sunday, June 10 at Washington (8 p.m. EDT, NBC)*

Game 7: Wednesday, June 13 at Las Vegas (8 p.m. EDT, NBC)*

Vegas is the favorite going into the series, according to the latest betting odds from Las Vegas. The Golden Knights (-160) entered the season with 500-1 odds of winning the Stanley Cup. Washington is a slight underdog for the series (+140).