2022 Stanley Cup Final - Burning questions for Colorado Avalanche-Tampa Bay Lightning

The 2022 Stanley Cup Final is set to begin Wednesday night in Denver, and it promises to be one of the best matchups in recent memory. The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to become the first team to three-peat since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980 to 1983. The high-flying Colorado Avalanche are averaging 4.64 goals per game, and they needed just 14 games to advance to the finals.

Who will get the best of the goalie matchup? How will injuries impact both teams? Who are the players to pay the most attention to? We asked our hockey experts — Emily Kaplan, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski — those questions and more ahead of the start of the finals.

While we don't typically want to traffic in hyperbole, this matchup between the Lightning and Avalanche is the greatest of the past two decades in the NHL.

It's not one in which an upstart team is trying to prevent a prohibitive favorite from winning the championship, as so many Stanley Cup finals tend to trend. No, this is a battle between what clearly have been the two best teams of the postseason. There's a galaxy of stars, a collection of heroic role players and strong coaching staffs on both teams. The Lightning and Avalanche excel on both ends of the ice, although each is a little better on one end than the other. Colorado's 4.64 goals per game average is the highest since the Edmonton Oilers in 1988 (minimum 14 games). Tampa Bay leads the playoffs with a 2.41 goals-against average in front of the best goalie in the world in Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning are facing off in the Stanley Cup Final. You can watch all seven games on ABC, ESPN+ and in the ESPN App.

Game 1: Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET (@ COL)Game 2: Saturday, 8 p.m.