Stanley Cup Finals schedule released

Well the schedule is set for the final round. Regardless of who wins the game 7 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins to face the Vancouver Canucks, this is the schedule of the games:

all times Eastern
all channels American
*denotes if necessary
Game 1: Wednesday, June 1st: @Van 8:00 PM, NBC
Game 2: Saturday, June 4th: @Van 8:00 PM, NBC
Game 3: Monday, June 6th: @Bos/Tbl 8:00 PM, VERSUS
Game 4: Wednesday, June 8th: @Bos/Tbl 8:00 PM, VERSUS
*Game 5: Friday, June 10th: @Van 8:00 PM, NBC
*Game 6: Monday, June 13th: @Bos/Tbl 8:00 PM, NBC
*Game 7: Wednesday, June 15th: @Van 8:00 PM, NBC

So a couple of notes. First off, regardless of the matchup, there'll be a far journey to either arena. Look at this map. Vancouver is upper west part of the map in British Columbia while Boston and Tampa are all the way on the East coast.

I apologize for the Thrashers still being in Atlanta in this picture. No updated photos yet.

Between games 2 and 3, there is only 1 day off for travel and rest.  As a matter of fact, the only time there isn't a 1 day rest is between games 1 and 2 and between games 5 and 6. This may benefit the team in the east. First off, either team (between Boston and Tampa) will be tired from their 7 game Conference Finals series. So a day off early on in the series (between games 1 and 2) might help that team. Also, an extra day of rest, late in the series, right before a home game is also a great advantage. So in that case, the East has the favorable set up.

Also, none of these games conflict with the NBA finals. Apparently some people would rather watch basketball in this country instead of watching a playoff hockey game. But they avoid the competition this year.

Furthermore, only 2 games are on NBC so that should help with the views as well.

One last thing. These finals go legitimately far into the month of June which isn't always the case. So look forward to intense hockey into the Summer!