NHL announces Stanley Cup Final schedule

The Conference Finals are in full swing and although we don’t know who will represent their respective conferences, we do know when they will play. The Western Conference Final is currently scheduled to end on Tuesday, June 4, while the Eastern Conference Final will end on Monday, June 3 (if necessary). Today, the NHL announced the schedule for the Stanley Cup Final (as per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period).

The schedule will be as follows:

Game 1 – June 8

Game 2 – June 10

Game 3 – June 13

Game 4 – June 15

Game 5* – June 18

Game 6* – June 21

Game 7* – June 24

*if necessary

Home ice will be determined once the eventual finalists are through the Conference Finals. Of the four teams in the Conference Finals, only the Edmonton Oilers are unable to get a home-ice advantage as they finished with the fewest points in the regular season. Typically, the higher-seeded team would have home-ice advantage, however, in the Stanley Cup Finals, home-ice advantage goes to whichever team had a better regular season record. 

The finals will feature two-day breaks to accommodate for travel, while Games 1 and 2 as well as Games 3 and 4 will have a one-day break between games. If the finals do go seven games, the cup will be rewarded 11 days later than it was last season when the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers in five games on June 13. However, it would be in line with the 2022 finals which were completed on June 26.