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Stanley Cup playoffs

Semifinals

MTL vs. VGK

The Golden Knights struck first in game one; the goal had Montreal trail for the first time since game four of their series with the Maple Leafs. Shea Theodore lead Vegas in that game scoring a goal and an assist in 4–1 victory.

NYI vs. TBL

In game one, Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves for New York, defeating Tampa Bay 2–1.

Finals

MTL vs. TBL

This will be the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Tampa Bay winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 2015 Eastern Conference Second Round, which Tampa Bay won in six games. This will be Tampa Bay's second consecutive Finals appearance and fourth overall. They won last year's Finals against the Dallas Stars in six games. Montreal will be appearing in their thirty-fifth Stanley Cup Finals. They are the most recent Canadian-based team to win the Stanley Cup, doing so in 1993 (their most recent Finals appearance) against the Los Angeles Kings, winning in five games. They are also the first Canadian team since the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 to be represented in the Finals.

MTL vs. NYI

This will be the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams with Montreal winning three of the four previous series. They last met in the 1993 Prince of Wales Conference Final, which Montreal won in five games. This will be New York's sixth Finals appearance and their first appearance since their five consecutive Finals appearances between 1980 and 1984, the latter of which they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in five games. Montreal will be appearing in their thirty-fifth Stanley Cup Finals. They are the most recent Canadian-based team to win the Stanley Cup, doing so in 1993 (their most recent Finals appearance) against the Los Angeles Kings, winning in five games. They are also the first Canadian team since the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 to be represented in the Finals.

NYI vs. VGK

This will be the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This will be Vegas' second Finals appearance after making the Finals in their first season of play. They lost to the Washington Capitals that year in five games. This will be New York's sixth Finals appearance and their first appearance since their five consecutive Finals appearances between 1980 and 1984, the latter of which they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in five games.

TBL vs. VGK

This will be the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This will be Vegas' second Finals appearance after making the Finals in their first season of play. They lost to the Washington Capitals that year in five games. This will be Tampa Bay's second consecutive Finals appearance and fourth overall. They won last year's Finals against the Dallas Stars in six games.

Stanley Cup Finals

Path to the Finals

Montreal Canadiens

This will be the thirty-fifth Stanley Cup Finals appearance for this team. They have won the Stanley Cup a record twenty-four times. They are the most recent Canadian-based team to win the Stanley Cup, doing so in 1993 (their most recent Finals appearance) against the Los Angeles Kings, winning in five games.

During the offseason, the Canadiens traded left wing Max Domi and a 3rd round pick for right wing Josh Anderson. They also picked up forwards Tyler Toffoli, Michael Frolik, and Corey Perry in free agency. The team also re-signed goaltender Jake Allen and forward Brendan Gallagher and defenceman Victor Mete. During the season, Hobey Baker Award winner and rookie Cole Caufield made his debut with the Canadiens this season. The team traded for forward Eric Staal as well as defencemen Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson.

On February 24, 2021, head coach Claude Julien was fired after parts of five seasons during his second stint as head coach of the Canadiens, which had registered a 9–5–4 record to start the season. Assistant coach Dominique Ducharme was named interim head coach.

The team finished with a record of 24–21–11 to finish fourth in the North Division. In the playoffs, the Canadiens came back from a 3–1 deficit in their series with their rival Toronto Maple Leafs to win in seven games. They then dispatched the Winnipeg Jets in a four game sweep in the second round before defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

New York Islanders

This will be New York's sixth Finals appearance and their first appearance since their five consecutive Finals appearances between 1980 and 1984, the latter of which they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in five games.

New York made no major acquisitions during the offseason. Instead, they opted to re-sign forwards Mathew Barzal, Matt Martin, and Josh Ho-Sang, defencemen Ryan Pulock and Sebastian Aho, and goaltender Cory Schneider. During the season, the Islanders acquired forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac through a trade with the New Jersey Devils.

New York finished with a 32–17–7 record to finish fourth in the East Division. In the playoffs, the Islanders knocked off the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the first round, then defeated the Boston Bruins in six games in the second round. In the Semifinals, they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in a rematch of the previous year's third round.

Tampa Bay Lightning

This will be Tampa Bay's second consecutive Finals appearance and fourth overall. They won the previous year's Finals against the Dallas Stars in six games.

Tampa Bay made very few transactions to gain players in the offseason. Instead, they traded away players or let players go via free agency to make cap space while re-signing Patrick Maroon, Luke Schenn, and Mikhail Sergachev. During the season, however, Tampa Bay traded for defenceman David Savard.

Tampa Bay finished with a 36–17–3 record to finish third in the Central Division. In the playoffs, the Lightning defeated their interstate rival, the Florida Panthers, in six games in the first round. The Lightning then triumphed over the Carolina Hurricanes in five games and in the Stanley Cup Semifinals, in a rematch of the previous year's Conference Final, they defeated the New York Islanders in six games.

Vegas Golden Knights

This will Vegas' second Finals appearance. Their only previous appearance was during their first season of play in 2018, which they lost to the Washington Capitals in five games.

During the offseason Vegas acquired defenceman and former St. Louis Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo in free agency. Otherwise, Vegas made no significant transactions in the offseason. During the season, Vegas traded for forward Mattias Janmark.

Vegas finished with a 40–14–2 record, placing second in the West Division. In the playoffs, the Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild in seven games, preventing a 3–1 series comeback by the Wild. The Golden Knights then faced off against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche, emerging victorious in six games. In the Stanley Cup Semifinals, they won against the Montreal Canadiens in six games.

Table Format

Scoring summary
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	DAL	John Klingberg (4)	Esa Lindell (7)	07:17	1–0 DAL
	DAL	Joe Pavelski (11)	Jamie Benn (11), Alexander Radulov (10)	14:22	2–0 DAL
	TBL	Brayden Point (12)	Ondrej Palat (7), Kevin Shattenkirk (10)	19:27	2–1 DAL
2nd	TBL	Brayden Point (13) – pp	Alex Killorn (5), Nikita Kucherov (24)	02:08	2–2
	DAL	Corey Perry (3)	Tyler Seguin (7), Mattias Janmark (7)	8:26	3–2 DAL
	TBL	Yanni Gourde (13) – pp	Nikita Kucherov (25), Mikhail Sergachev (6)	18:54	3–3
3rd	TBL	Alex Killorn (5)	Mikhail Sergachev (7), Anthony Cirelli (6)	06:41	4–3 TBL
	DAL	Joe Pavelski (12)	Tyler Seguin (7), Miro Heiskanen (19)	11:35	4–4
OT	TBL	Kevin Shattenkirk (3) – pp	Victor Hedman (11), Patrick Maroon (4)	06:34	5–4 TBL
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	DAL	Jamie Oleksiak	Hooking	13:52	2:00
2nd	DAL	Jamie Oleksiak	Tripping	01:38	2:00
	TBL	Erik Cernak	Holding	11:10	2:00
	DAL	Andrew Cogliano	Hooking	17:34	2:00
3rd	TBL	Patrick Maroon	Holding	09:16	2:00
	DAL	Corey Perry	Interference	19:31	2:00
	TBL	Brayden Point	Embellishment	19:31	2:00
OT	TBL	Mikhail Sergachev	Holding	00:37	2:00
	DAL	Jamie Benn	Tripping	05:10	2:00

Shots by period
Team	1	2	3	OT	Total
TBL	8	15	8	4	35
DAL	3	14	11	2	30