NHL Playoff Schedule 2012: Teams Under Most Pressure in Round 1

Fans of every NHL playoff team will spend the next couple days dreaming about their favorite squad winning the Stanley Cup. It adds more pressure to the equation, especially for teams with high expectations heading into the postseason.

Let's take a look at three contenders that are under a lot of pressure entering their first round series, albeit for different reasons. For a complete look at the upcoming playoff schedule, visit the league's official site.

Vancouver Canucks

The Presidents' Trophy winners, Vancouver will be looking for redemption after falling just short of a championship last season. If they fail to reach their ultimate goal yet again, however, fans will start to get restless.

Adding to the drama is a potential goaltending controversy between Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider. The backup actually had the better regular season, but Luongo's track record will earn him the start in Game 1. That has the potential to become a real sticky situation.

Last season's failure, rotating goalies and a banged up Daniel Sedin will make the Canucks' series against the Los Angeles Kings more interesting than they probably hoped. If they drop a game early, the heat will really be on.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have been an elite regular season team for the better part of a decade, but have never even reached the Stanley Cup finals, let alone skated away with the hardware. So, even though they are only a seven seed, they still have a lot of pressure to deal with.

It's never been a question of talent. Stars like Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau give San Jose more than enough firepower to win it all, but the team as a whole just doesn't step up when it matters most. When that happens it becomes a mental battle more than anything else.

Their opening round opponent, the St. Louis Blues, play an extremely disciplined style of hockey. That will force the Sharks to have a patient approach, which isn't easy for a team under pressure. Another early exit will be a sign that it might be time to change things up.

Boston Bruins

An elevated level of pressure always follows around the defending Stanley Cup champions. Once a team reaches the mountain top, the fans start expecting greatness every single season, even when that's not realistically possible.

The Bruins find themselves in that situation this year and facing the Washington Capitals in the first round won't do them any favors. The Capitals were inconsistent all season and have problems in goal, so Boston fans are probably already looking ahead to Round 2.

It will be vital for the Bruins to establish their dominance early in the series. They don't want to have to fight back all the time like last season because that will eventually catch up with them. If they can shut down Alex Ovechkin, they'll be fine. If not, watch out.