EDMONTON, Alberta — The leaves are starting to change color around the NHL playoff bubble, and, at most, seven games remain before the Stanley Cup is handed out.

On Saturday night, two of the league’s southernmost teams begin a Stanley Cup Final like none other in the great white north when the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning face off in Game 1. The Texas and Florida heat that would have been around in late May and June has been replaced by a chill in the air with teams from nontraditional markets vying for hockey’s biggest prize in the northernmost city in the NHL.

“We don’t know what the temperature is outside because we’re never outside, so it doesn’t come into play,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said from the confines of the bubble. “We’re 75, 80 degrees here all the time, so it’s perfect — perfect environment.”

The Stars and Lightning would take any environment for a chance to win the Cup. Dallas players, coaches and staff have been here since July 27, and Tampa Bay joined them Sept. 5 after spending six weeks in Toronto and flying cross-country.