NHL Playoff Schedule 2012: Power Ranking Wednesday's Opening Games

The chase for the Stanley Cup officially gets under way on Wednesday.

There are three contests on the docket for Wednesday. The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins will get things rolling at around 7:30 p.m. ET, and they will be followed by the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators, and the Los Angeles Kings at the Vancouver Canucks.

In all, we're looking at several hours of hockey goodness. But for kicks, let's go ahead and power rank these three games in terms of watchability.

3. Detroit Red Wings at Nashville Predators

Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: CNBC, CBC

What's intriguing about this series is that it features two of the most balanced squads in the NHL. The Red Wings finished seventh in goals per game and seventh in goals allowed per game. The Predators finished eighth in both of those same categories.

The key in this series will be Detroit's ability to contain Nashville's power play. The Predators topped the league in power-play percentage this season, and the Red Wings' kill percentage was merely average.

That's not the only disadvantage the Red Wings will be working against. Detroit is one of the best teams in the league when it plays on its own ice. But away from home, the Red Wings are pretty mediocre. That doesn't bode well in Game 1, or for the rest of the series for that matter.

This will be a close series no matter who wins it. Don't be surprised if it goes the distance.

2. Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks

Time: 10:30 p.m. ET

TV: CBC, NBC Sports Network

This looks like a mismatch at first glance, as a simple scan of the numbers reveal it to be a very bad offensive team going up against a very good offensive team.

But don't be so sure. The Kings struggled to score goals for much of the season, but they got hot down the stretch when the games really started to matter. All told, they scored 54 goals in an 18-game span between March and April.

Given the way these two offenses can put the puck in the back of the net, the emphasis on this series will be which team is going to prevent more goals. Since both the Kings and the Canucks feature outstanding netminders, that matchup is a tossup.

So this should be a fun series. It all starts on Wednesday night, and things are going to get very interesting if the Kings manage to steal a win on the road.

1. Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins 

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBC Sports Network, TSN

Now this is going to be a very, very fun series.

The return to form of Sidney Crosby since the middle of March has coincided with a hot stretch on the part of the Penguins. Together with Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, the Penguins have a trio of stars that can make trouble for every team in the field.

The Flyers, however, are one of the few teams in the league that is capable of hanging with Pittsburgh offensively. The Flyers have some dangerous offensive weapons of their own, chief among them Claude Giroux.

The danger for the Flyers in this series is that their goaltending issues might crop up again. Ilya Bryzgalov finished strong after a tough start, but the Penguins are a team that could easily make him look human again. If Sergei Bobrovsky ends up in net, he could also be easily exposed.

It all seems quite simple, really. Whoever scores the most goals wins. And in this series, a lot of goals are going to be scored.

For a full breakdown of the NHL postseason schedule, B/R's Mike Chiari has put it all the necessary info on one page. You can also head on over to NHL.com.