Tampa Bay’s Ryan McDonagh, left, and the New York Islanders’ Anthony Beauvillier look for the puck during Game 5 of their NHL playoff series on Tuesday in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

This was already going to be an unusual Stanley Cup, and it now has a matchup for all of those who like their games to be a bit defensive.

The Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, two of the league’s southernmost teams playing for the title in a bubble in the NHL’s northernmost arena in Edmonton, have defensemen who provide plenty of points.

Is that defensive offense or offensive defense? Either way, they’ve done that and also been pretty good at what blueline players are primarily expected to do in shutting down the opponent.

“In today’s NHL you need that for your team to be successful,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said Friday. “You need that second wave of players joining the rush. … It’s something that we stress.”

Game 1 of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup is tonight, two days after Tampa Bay won the Eastern Conference in Game 6 against the New York Islanders. The Stars eliminated Western Conference top seed Vegas on Monday.

Tampa Bay veteran Victor Hedman, a fourth-time finalist for the Norris Trophy that goes to the league’s best all-around defenseman, is scoring postseason goals at a record pace. The Stars have Miro Heiskanen, who at barely 21 is already the highest-scoring defenseman ever in a postseason for his franchise.

“It’s way easier to play with five guys on the ice than three or two,” Heiskanen said. “So it’s great to have the good D core, and let’s try to use it as much as we can, and just keep going there.”