NHL Playoff Schedule 2015: TV, Live Stream Info for Thursday's 1st-Round Bracket

Playoff action abounds in mid-April, as professional franchises both on the hardwood and in the hockey rinks take to their respective postseason chases. The 2015 NHL playoffs have a slight head start on the NBA, so if you're a sports junkie looking for a high-stakes fix, hockey has you covered.

Wednesday saw a fine slate of four series-opening games, highlighted by the always-dangerous Chicago Blackhawks pulling out a 4-3 double-overtime win over the Nashville Predators.

The remaining four playoff series will get their start on Thursday, which includes the playoff debuts of the two top-seeded teams in the bracket, the Western Conference's Anaheim Ducks and the East's New York Rangers.

Here's the schedule as well as TV and live stream info for Thursday's NHL lineup:

Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers	7 p.m.	CBC, NBCSN, TVA, ROOT, MSG
Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning	7:30 p.m.	CNBC, SN, TVA-2, FS-D, FS-F
Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues	9:30 p.m.	NBCSN, SN360, TVA-3, FS-N, FS-WI, FS-MW
Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks	10:30 p.m.	CNBC, TVA, SN, Prime

Live streams of each game can be found at NBC Sports Live Extra. Official bracket can be found at NHL.com.


Game to Watch: No. 8 Pittsburgh Penguins at No. 1 New York Rangers

Tom Mihalek/Associated Press

Really? A No. 1 versus No. 8 seed is the game to watch?

Well, when it's the Presidents' Trophy winners against an underdog that happens to feature two of the best players in the league and the game is at the grand venue that is Madison Square Garden, there really shouldn't be any other choice—if you have to pick just one contest, that is.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin combined for 154 points this season—both finished in the top 20 in scoring—but the Penguins finished just 19th in the league in goals scored as a team.

The Rangers, on the other hand, poured in 248 goals as a team (3.02 per game), which was good for the third-best tally in the league.

If the Penguins are to contend with the Rangers' explosive attack, they will need strong performances throughout the series from their two star centers. New York poured it on against many a team this season, but Larry Brooks of the New York Post noted that the Rangers did especially prolific work against Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury:

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Marc-Andre Fleury isn’t about the numbers, even as the Rangers pumped in 15 goals on 112 shots in 214:04 (.843/4.20) during the 3-0-1 season-series domination. Rather, since capturing the Cup in 2009 with a steely Game 7 performance in Detroit, Fleury has been about surrendering questionable/soft ones at the worst possible times. Fleury recorded 10 shutouts during the season, but again, it’s not about that.

"

Fleury had a very tough April but did finish off the regular season with a shutout against the Buffalo Sabres. Still, the numbers don't bode well for a goalie playing behind a tired, stretched-thin defense that has to face a very balanced scoring attack powered by Rick Nash and his 42 goals.

Date	Opponent	GA	SA	SV	SV %
Apr. 11	at Buffalo	0	28	28	1.000
Apr. 10	vs. New York Islanders	3	26	23	.885
Apr. 7	at Ottawa	4	44	40	.909
Apr. 4	at Columbus	4	34	30	.882
Apr. 1	vs. Philadelphia	4	31	27	.871

Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that the Penguins might go for a forward-heavy lineup on power plays to contend with New York:

Kathy Kmonicek/Associated Press

Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi pointed out Pittsburgh's potency on the break as a reason to be wary of the squad.

“They’re a very dangerous team on their transition,” he said, per Pat Pickens of The New York Times. “Coming through the neutral zone on an odd-man rush or with speed, they obviously have Crosby and Malkin, guys who can control the game.”

All signs point to New York controlling this series, but one would be foolish to count out a team that can benefit from the combined brilliance of Crosby and Malkin.

The supporting play of Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz—who notched nine of his 17 goals this year on the power play—will also be critical to the Penguins' success.

Pittsburgh should also have revenge in mind, as it was the Rangers who bounced them from last year's Stanley Cup playoffs.

New York will take Game 1 of this series, but the Penguins should be able to force this series at least to a Game 6.