Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper wants to see a raucous Bell Centre crowd when his team travels to meet the Montreal Canadiens for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final next Friday.

"I hope they let more fans in there," Cooper said following his side's Game 7 triumph over the New York Islanders on Friday, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "The fans of Quebec, they haven't been back since '93, they deserve to watch their team play. I hope they get in there because ... this game was meant to be played in front of fans."

The Canadiens were only allowed to have 3,500 fans for the Stanley Cup semifinals against the Vegas Golden Knights - 1,000 more than they were permitted for Round 2 against the Winnipeg Jets.

The streets outside the Bell Centre were packed for Montreal's Game 6 victory on Thursday.

A full Bell Centre is considered one of the NHL's best atmospheres.

Cooper's Lightning are no strangers to difficult road environments - his squad just played three games at the notoriously hostile Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, winning one of those contests.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year.

The defending champs punched their ticket to the finals Friday with a 1-0 win in Game 7 against the New York Islanders. Tampa Bay was stingy defensively, as Andrei Vasilevskiy only had to make 18 saves for the shutout. Yanni Gourde's opening marker stood as the game-winner.

Tampa Bay will look to become the second team this century to win back-to-back Stanley Cups after the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens is set for Monday night in Tampa Bay.

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The NHL's 2021 playoff points leader isn't missing Game 7.

Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov is suiting up for the decisive contest of the Stanley Cup semifinal series against the New York Islanders on Friday night.

Kucherov took part in the pregame warmup alongside Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith.

The Russian dynamo left Game 6 not long after Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield cross-checked him early in the first period. Kucherov finished his shift but then exited the contest and didn't return.

Mayfield wasn't penalized on the play, and Lightning captain Steven Stamkos later said the Islanders blue-liner was "probably a guy looking for a cheap shot there."

Kucherov entered Game 7 sitting atop the league leaderboards in both assists (22) and points (27) for this postseason.

The Lightning also got defenseman Erik Cernak back Friday night. He'd missed the last two contests.

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The Minnesota Wild have apparently entered the Jack Eichel sweepstakes.

The club has had initial trade discussions with the Buffalo Sabres about their superstar center, The Athletic's Michael Russo reports.

The Wild have lacked an impact player down the middle of the ice for much of their existence, and they're still in need of a pivot entering the 2021-22 campaign.

Joel Eriksson Ek, a restricted free agent, enjoyed a breakout season and finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting, but the team's center depth behind him is alarming.

Nick Bonino and Nick Bjugstad are unrestricted free agents, while Victor Rask and Nico Sturm are one year away from becoming UFAs. Ryan Hartman made the difficult transition from wing to center last campaign but is still unproven at his new position. Marco Rossi, the 2020 ninth overall pick, had his development slowed by a harsh battle with COVID-19 this past year.

Minnesota enters the offseason with $22-million in projected cap space, per CapFriendly, but in addition to Eriksson Ek needing a new contract, Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala are RFAs as well.

The Sabres are widely expected to move Eichel after the player and organization appeared to have a publicized falling out.

In his end-of-season interview, Eichel revealed he's upset with the franchise's handling of his neck injury and that he's looking forward to next season "wherever that may be."

The 2015 second overall pick suffered a herniated disk in his neck in March, forcing him to miss the remainder of the campaign. Eichel implied in May he wanted to have surgery, but the team wouldn't allow it.

A few days later, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said Buffalo will proceed with "the people who want to be here."

Eichel recorded two goals and 16 assists in 21 games this season before suffering the neck injury. However, he racked up 78 points in 68 contests the year before.

The 24-year-old has five years left on his contract, carrying an annual cap hit of $10 million. A no-movement clause takes effect in 2022-23.

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The NHL revealed the schedule Friday for the upcoming Stanley Cup Final, with Game 1 set for June 28.

* - if necessary

There'll be one day off between each contest, except for a two-day break between Games 3 and 4.

The winner of the series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders will have home-ice advantage versus the Montreal Canadiens. Both teams finished higher in the regular-season standings than Montreal.

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It's felt like an eternity for Canadiens fans, but Montreal is finally back in the Stanley Cup Final after nearly three decades. The most successful franchise in NHL history now has another chance to recapture the magic of years past.

From 1956 to 1993, the Canadiens brought the Stanley Cup back to Montreal an incredible 17 times. They were a model of consistency; Henri Richard was on 11 of those championship teams, while Jean Beliveau and Yvan Cournoyer were each on 10.

However, things have gone downhill for the franchise since it was last crowned champion in '93. New coaches, general managers, and players have entered the fray, but no one has been able to deliver another Cup for the devoted Habs fans.

This year appeared to be another to forget, but it's quickly turned into one of the greatest seasons in recent memory.

Here's a look at some of the numbers since the Canadiens' last Cup victory:

2: Montreal had two players capture the Hart Trophy between their Cup appearances, with both being goaltenders (Carey Price and Jose Theodore).

3: The Canadiens drafted in the top five of the NHL draft three times since '93. Alex Galchenyuk, Price, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were the selections.

5: The number of times Canadian teams have made it to the Stanley Cup Final since '93. None have been victorious.

8: The Canadiens have had eight different captains since Guy Carbonneau last led the team to glory.

8: Eric Staal - the oldest player on this Canadiens roster at 36 - was eight years old the last time the Habs won the Cup.

9: The Canadiens have featured nine players this postseason who weren't born yet when the team last won the Cup: Kotkaniemi, Josh Anderson, Joel Edmundson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Artturi Lehkonen, Jake Evans, Alexander Romanov, and Brett Kulak.

10: Montreal has missed the playoffs in 10 of the 27 seasons since its last Cup.

11: The Canadiens have gone through 11 bench bosses since Jacques Demers last led the team all the way.

12: The number of jerseys that have been raised to the rafters at the Bell Centre since '93, with the latest being Guy Lapointe's in 2014.

12: The previous longest drought between Stanley Cup appearances in franchise history was 12 seasons, from 1931 to 1944.

13: Montreal has had some decent playoff success and made a couple of deeper runs in recent years, winning 13 postseason series and making it to the conference finals three times since '93.

23: Vincent Damphousse recorded 23 points in the 1993 playoffs, leading the team in scoring.

2,277: Including the postseason, the Canadiens have played 2,277 games since last hoisting the Cup.

6,213: Canadiens fans have had the pleasure of watching their team fill opponents' nets 6,213 times over the last 28 years.

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Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper doesn't sound overly optimistic that Nikita Kucherov will suit up for Friday night's pivotal Game 7 against the New York Islanders.

"Not sure," Cooper said Friday when asked if the star forward will play, according to The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno. "I wish I could give you guys lineup answers. I can't. We'll have to wait till tonight."

Kucherov wasn't a participant in Friday's optional morning skate.

The playoff points leader suffered an apparent injury in the first period of Game 6, likely after taking a heavy cross-check from Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield.

Kucherov finished his shift before eventually leaving the game. He didn't return, and the Islanders went on to win 3-2 in overtime.

The 28-year-old has five goals and 22 assists during the playoffs so far. He missed the entire 2020-21 regular season after undergoing hip surgery in December.

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