By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

After a four and a half month pause and seven weeks safely playing inside the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles, two teams remain and the 2020 Stanley Cup Final is finally set. The series will begin on Saturday night between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars.

Tampa Bay has long-awaited this moment. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, the Lightning have been widely regarded as the team to beat in several seasons, none more than the 2018-19 season when they won 62 games in the regular season only to get swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now, they are back again and have an even more talented roster poised to claim the Lightning’s second Stanley Cup in franchise history and first since 2004.

On the other side, the Dallas Stars were seemingly the forgotten team of the return-to-play in the West. Among the four Round Robin teams, they were the one that wasn’t given a shot. They played through multiple trials and tribulations throughout the regular season, then powered their way back within each series to find a way to reach the final. They are certainly a dangerous bunch that is also looking to claim the franchise’s second Stanley Cup and first since 1999.

Here is a preview of the series, including each team’s candidates for Conn Smythe, how they got to the Final and what they need to do to win the Cup.