2022 Stanley Cup Final preview: Three-peat for Tampa Bay or a third championship for Colorado?

The 2022 Stanley Cup Final is set to get underway on Wednesday night in Denver as the Colorado Avalanche will take on the two-time defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Colorado swept the season series, winning 4-3 in a shootout on October 23rd in Tampa Bay and a 3-2 win on February 10th in Denver.

Tampa Bay got to their third straight Stanley Cup Final by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, Florida Panthers in the second round and New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final.

Meanwhile, Colorado advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2001 by defeating the Nashville Predators in the first round, St. Louis Blues in the second round and the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final.

Both teams possess lethal offences, strong defensive cores, but the Lightning have a significant advantage in net with one of the best goaltenders in the world right now, Andrei Vasilevskiy. It's unclear who Avs head coach Jared Bednar will turn to for Game 1 on Wednesday night as Darcy Kuemper told reporters on Tuesday that he is ready to return to the crease after suffering an injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.

The Avalanche and Lightning both have key injuries to their rosters, but one is closer to returning than the other. Lightning forward Brayden Point, who hasn't played since Game 7 against Toronto, skated on the top power play unit at practice on Tuesday and is getting very close to making his return.

As for the Avalanche, it doesn't appear that Nazem Kadri will play at all in the Stanley Cup Final, but he hasn't officially been ruled out. On June 6th, Kadri had surgery on his thumb following a dangerous hit from behind from Evander Kane in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final. Kadri didn't skate on Tuesday, but was on the ice on Sunday.

It will be an exciting series and should be interesting to see who matches up with who. In terms of individual matchups, Cale Makar vs Steven Stamkos' line will be one to watch, should they play against each other, while another to keep an eye on is Nathan MacKinnon's line likely to face Tampa's top defensive pairing with Victor Hedman.

As a reminder, here is the full schedule for the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. All games begin at 8 p.m. ET

Game 1: Wednesday, June 15th in Denver.
Game 2: Saturday, June 18th in Denver.
Game 3: Monday, June 20th in Tampa Bay.
Game 4: Wednesday, June 22nd in Tampa Bay.
*Game 5: Friday, June 24th in Denver.
*Game 6: Sunday, June 26th in Tampa Bay.
*Game 7: Tuesday, June 28th in Denver.
(* - if necessary)

Markerzone.com writers predictions
Tim: Lightning in six games
Cooper: Avalanche in six games
Ashley: Lightning in six games
Brennen: Lightning in seven games
Jon: Lightning in seven games

Let us know in the poll below who you think will win the 2022 Stanley Cup Final!

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