NHL Playoff Schedule 2015: Bracket Dates, TV Coverage and Live Stream

With spring in the air, temperatures are heating up on the ice. The Stanley Cup playoffs commence in two days' time.

The eight first-round matchups came into focus after the Pittsburgh Penguins' win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, but it wasn't until Sunday that the NHL revealed the dates and times for many of the games. Hockey fans can now configure their schedules so as to fit in as much of the postseason as possible.

Here's a look at the full first-round schedule for each conference, courtesy of NHL.com.

Game	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
St. Louis vs. Minnesota
1	Thursday, April 16	9:30 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
2	Saturday, April 18	3 p.m.	NBC
3	Monday, April 20	8 p.m.	CNBC
4	Wednesday, April 22	9:30 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
5*	Friday, April 24	TBD	TBD
6*	Sunday, April 26	TBD	TBD
7*	Wednesday, April 29	TBD	TBD
Nashville vs. Chicago
1	Wednesday, April 15	8:30 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
2	Friday, April 17	9:30 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
3	Sunday, April 19	3 p.m.	NBC
4	Tuesday, April 21	9:30 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
5*	Thursday, April 23	TBD	TBD
6*	Saturday, April 25	TBD	TBD
7*	Monday, April 27	TBD	TBD
Anaheim vs. Winnipeg
1	Thursday, April 16	10:30 p.m.	CNBC
2	Saturday, April 18	10:30 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
3	Monday, April 20	9 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
4	Wednesday, April 22	9:30 p.m.	USA
5*	Friday, April 24	TBD	TBD
6*	Sunday, April 26	TBD	TBD
7*	Tuesday, April 28	TBD	TBD
Vancouver vs. Calgary
1	Wednesday, April 15	10 p.m.	USA
2	Friday, April 17	10 p.m.	CNBC
3	Sunday, April 19	10 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
4	Tuesday, April 21	10 p.m.	USA
5*	Thursday, April 23	TBD	TBD
6*	Saturday, April 25	TBD	TBD
7*	Monday, April 27	TBD	TBD

Game	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
Montreal vs. Ottawa
1	Wednesday, April 15	7 p.m.	NHL Network
2	Friday, April 17	7 p.m.	CNBC
3	Sunday, April 19	7 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
4	Wednesday, April 22	7 p.m.	USA
5*	Friday, April 24	TBD	TBD
6*	Sunday, April 26	TBD	TBD
7*	Tuesday, April 28	TBD	TBD
Tampa Bay vs. Detroit
1	Thursday, April 16	7:30 p.m.	CNBC
2	Saturday, April 18	3 p.m.	NBC
3	Tuesday, April 21	7 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
4	Thursday, April 23	7p.m.	NBC Sports Network
5*	Saturday, April 25	TBD	TBD
6*	Monday, April 27	TBD	TBD
7*	Wednesday, April 29	TBD	TBD
New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh
1	Thursday, April 16	7 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
2	Saturday, April 18	8 p.m.	NBC
3	Monday, April 20	7 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
4	Wednesday, April 22	7 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
5*	Friday, April 24	TBD	TBD
6*	Sunday, April 26	TBD	TBD
7*	Tuesday, April 28	TBD	TBD
Washington vs. New York Islanders
1	Wednesday, April 15	7 p.m.	USA
2	Friday, April 17	7 p.m.	NBC Sports Network
3	Sunday, April 19	12 p.m.	NBC
4	Tuesday, April 21	7:30 p.m.	USA
5*	Thursday, April 23	TBD	TBD
6*	Saturday, April 25	TBD	TBD
7*	Monday, April 27	TBD	TBD

The New York Rangers head into the playoffs as arguably the favorites. They collected more points than any other team, and they're the defending Eastern Conference champions. The Rangers players know what it takes to at least make the Stanley Cup Finals.

What stands out the most about New York is how strong it is on both ends of the ice. The Rangers finished third in both goals per game (3.02) and goals against per game (2.28).

Their strength in depth also makes them tough to beat. Rick Nash's 69 points were good enough for just 20th in the league, but he was one of seven different Rangers players to register at least 40 points during the regular season.

Sportsnet's Brendan Dunlop noted that the President's Cup has been a bit of a poisoned chalice in the past, though:

Perhaps only baseball is more unforgiving than hockey to top seeds in the playoffs. It wouldn't be a massive shock if the Penguins undid all of the Rangers' progress this year.

In the Western Conference, many are looking at the Chicago Blackhawks despite the fact that the Blackhawks finished third in the Central Division.

Chicago owns one of the best defenses in the league, while Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Brandon Saad provide the attacking impetus. The Blackhawks might also have a healthy Patrick Kane on the ice once the playoffs begin.

Pat Boyle of CSN Chicago reported that Kane could be practicing today with an eye toward Game 1 on Wednesday:

Duncan Keith talked about how he and his teammates remain confident they'll be fine should Kane be unable to play or not quite 100 percent, per Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune:

"

I don't think our team is that mentally weak where we focus on one player and think, 'Oh, we're really going to be good when we get Kaner' back. That's a very mentally weak way to look at things, just hoping and praying you get a guy back to come and save you. We've been around long enough that we know one guy doesn't make a team. Certainly, Kaner is a big part of our group and he helps our team scoring goals and things like that, but if we're going to win it's going to have to be everybody.

"

With or without Kane, Chicago will have its hands full in the first round against the Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks won three of the four regular-season matchups, but one of the victories came in overtime, while another needed a shootout to determine the victor.

And that's only one potential hurdle for Chicago.

There really isn't that one great team in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Instead, you have a collection of very good teams, any one of which could be at the top of the food chain.

This year's postseason shouldn't be lacking in excitement.

Notes: Stanley Cup playoff games will be available to live stream on NBC Sports Live Extra in the United States. All stats are courtesy of NHL.com.