Photo Credit: CBS Sports

By Zane Miller

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche will play each other in the 108th Stanley Cup Finals, as both teams look to take the championship for the 2021-22 NHL season. The two teams have never played against each other previously in the Finals.

The Lightning are 3 for 4 in their previous Finals appearances, winning in 2004, 2020 and 2021 as they are in prime position to become three-peat champions, however they took the loss against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015.

The Avalanche are 2 for 2 in their prior efforts in the Finals, taking titles in 1996 and 2001, but had not previously appeared since that run.

Out of the 256 potential Stanley Cup matchups that would be possible under the current playoff format, 34 of them have occurred so far.

The most common matchup out of the ones that could still be possible to re-occur is the Montreal Canadiens v. Chicago Blackhawks, as the franchises have faced each other five times, coming in 1931, 1944, 1965, 1971, and 1973.