NHL Playoff Schedule 2015: Updated Stanley Cup Dates, Live Stream and Guide
The first round of the 2015 NHL playoffs finally wrapped up on Wednesday night, as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Detroit Red Wings to advance. Ben Bishop stopped all 31 of the Red Wings' shot attempts and, more importantly, brought clarity to the playoff picture.
Tampa Bay will move on to play Montreal in one Eastern playoff series, while the Rangers and Capitals face off in a battle between teams from two of the United States of America's proudest cities.
| Fri., May 1 | Tampa Bay at Montreal | 7 p.m. | NBCSN, CBC |
| Sun., May 3 | Tampa Bay at Montreal | 6 p.m. | NBCSN, CBC |
| Tues., May 5 | Montreal at Tampa Bay | 7 p.m. | USA, CBC |
| Thurs., May 7 | Montreal at Tampa Bay | 7 p.m. | NBCSN, CBC |
| Sat., May 9* | Tampa Bay at Montreal | TBD | CBC |
| Tues., May 12* | Montreal at Tampa Bay | TBD | CBC |
| Thurs., May 14* | Tampa Bay at Montreal | TBD | CBC |
| Thurs., April 30 | Washington at New York Rangers | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN, CBC |
| Sat., May 2 | Washington at New York Rangers | 12:30 p.m. | NBC |
| Mon., May 4 | New York Rangers at Washington | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN, CBC |
| Wed., May 6 | New York Rangers at Washington | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN, CBC |
| Fri., May 8* | Washington at New York Rangers | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sun., May 10* | New York Rangers at Washington | TBD | TBD |
| Wed., May 13* | Washington at New York Rangers | TBD | TBD |
| Fri., May 1 | Minnesota at Chicago | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sun., May 3 | Minnesota at Chicago | 8:30 p.m. | NBCSN, CBC |
| Tues., May 5 | Chicago at Minnesota | 8 p.m. | NBCSN, CBC |
| Thurs., May 7 | Chicago at Minnesota | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sat., May 9* | Minnesota at Chicago | TBD | TBD |
| Mon., May 11* | Chicago at Minnesota | TBD | TBD |
| Wed., May 13* | Minnesota at Chicago | TBD | TBD |
| Thurs., April 30 | Calgary at Anaheim | 10 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sun., May 3 | Calgary at Anaheim | 10 p.m. | CNBC |
| Tues., May 5 | Anaheim at Calgary | 9:30 p.m. | USA |
| Fri., May 8 | Anaheim at Calgary | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sun., May 10* | Calgary at Anaheim | TBD | TBD |
| Tues., May 12* | Anaheim at Calgary | TBD | TBD |
| Thurs., May 14* | Calgary at Anaheim | TBD | TBD |
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The Lightning have to be feeling good after reeling off two straight wins after going 3-2 down to Detroit. Their offense came up huge with a five-goal evening in Game 6, and Bishop turned in one of his best games of the season on Wednesday night. It also provides a big opportunity for the former playoff neophytes to knock off the team that so rudely swept them last year.
"You go back a year ago, four-game sweep. To win this series we had to win three of four, and they found a way. So, they learned," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper, relayed by ESPN. "This sure does make us feel better about ourselves."
The Canadiens, looking for their first Stanley Cup in two decades, certainly looked the part in Round 1. They got out to a 3-0 lead in their series against Ottawa, eventually closing it out on the back of goaltender Carey Price. The Hart Memorial Trophy finalist has been the rock in net for Montreal all season, helping the team to the East's top seed despite ranking 20th in goals scored.
Price will have his toughest test yet in Tampa Bay, which scored an NHL-high 3.2 goals per contest during the regular season. Tyler Johnson alone has already scored six goals this offseason, and it's only a matter of time before Steven Stamkos and the wings really get going.
“He’s the best player every night, he’s the best player on our team,” left winger Max Pacioretty said, per Bill Beacon of The Canadian Press (h/t the Montreal Gazette). “It’s always the last worry on our minds, how Carey Price is going to play. He’s the best competitor I’ve ever seen.”
On the other side, New York against Washington pits two of the NHL's most well-rounded teams against each other. Both the Rangers and Capitals are among the 10 best teams in goals allowed and goals scored, which should make for a hotly contested matchup. The series will also provide Washington with a chance to atone, given its past playoff failures against New York.
“They were the team that was ready for the playoffs before everyone else was,” Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby said, per Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post. “We’re facing the Presidents’ Trophy winners but we don’t feel like we’re over-matched at all. We feel like it’s going to be extremely good hockey and a series we’re capable of winning.”
In the Western Conference, underdog Minnesota will try to pull off another surprise by taking down playoff stalwart Chicago. The Wild's dispatching of St. Louis was impressive and featured some highly variant play from Devan Dubnyk. In the four games Minnesota won, Dubnyk allowed just four goals. The Blues scored 10 goals in their two wins.
Nonetheless, the six-game triumph created—you guessed it—another rematch from the past. Minnesota and Chicago have now met in three straight postseasons, each of the first two going the way of the Blackhawks.
"They're coming in hot," Jonathan Toews said, per Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. "They're playing great hockey. They just beat a really, really good team. Obviously, [people] want to say that we've beat them the last two years, but I don't think there's any favorite in this series."
Chicago, finally nearing full health, just got through an extremely close series with Nashville. Three of the Blackhawks' four wins were decided by a single goal—two in overtime. While that speaks to their playoff acumen, it's also a sign a regression to the mean could be coming.
We saved Anaheim against Calgary for last, mostly because it looks like the easiest to predict. The Ducks are a monolith looking determined to thrash their way through the Western Conference. Calgary deserves credit for getting past a tough Vancouver team but looks to be at a massive talent disadvantage.
