Stanley Cup Playoffs 2015: Full Conference Final Schedule and Key Storylines

Every year, the Stanley Cup playoffs manage to top themselves in terms of sheer drama and excitement. The conference finals have a lot to live up to, but having the team that won the Presidents' Trophy and the top seed in the Western Conference fighting for a spot in the Final is a good start. 

Add to that one of the most popular franchises in one of the biggest markets (Chicago Blackhawks) and one of the best young teams in the league (Tampa Bay Lightning), and it makes this one of the best final fours in recent NHL history. All that's left is for the games to start. 

The only thing that needs to be improved on so far in the postseason is more series going deeper. Only three series thus far have gone seven games, and the two Western Conference semifinal series ended in a sweep for Chicago and five games for the Anaheim Ducks. 

Here's when all the conference championship action will go down, followed by a look at the key storylines for both series. 

Matchup	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
Eastern Conference: No. 1 New York Rangers vs. No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning	May 16, 1 p.m.	May 18, 8 p.m.	May 20, 8 p.m.	May 22, 8 p.m.	May 24, 8 p.m.	May 26, 8 p.m.	May 29, 8 p.m.
Western Conference: No. 1 Anaheim Ducks vs. No. 3 Chicago Blackhawks	May 17, 3 p.m.	May 19, 9 p.m.	May 21, 8 p.m.	May 23, 8 p.m.	May 25, 9 p.m.	May 27, 8 p.m.	May 30, 8 p.m.

Game 1 of each series and Game 4 of the Western Conference series will be broadcast on NBC. All other games will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.

New York's Great Hope vs. Tampa Bay's Young Superstar

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Henrik Lundqvist has been a hero for the New York Rangers throughout this postseason, leading the team to eight one-goal wins and allowing three goals or more only twice in 12 games thus far. 

A great goalie can hide deficiencies, but the Rangers are playing with fire thanks to a lack of offensive identity in the playoffs. They don't have one elite goal scorer, so it can be a different player on any given night, as it was with Chris Kreider late in Game 5 and early in Game 6 against the Washington Capitals or Derek Stepan in Game 7. 

According to Jesse Spector of Sporting News, Lundqvist is doing his best work when the pressure reaches its apex:

"

In his six consecutive Game 7 victories, Lundqvist owns a .973 save percentage. It actually went down a tick on Wednesday, from .97297 to .97282, on a night when Lundqvist made 35 saves. That’s how good Lundqvist has been in the biggest games, even given how good he was in eliminating the Capitals and sending the Rangers to the Eastern Conference finals for a date with the Lightning.

"

Now, the Rangers are going against a Tampa Bay team that finished second in the Eastern Conference in goal differential (plus-51, behind only New York). The Lightning are also the highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 3.2 goals per game in the regular season. 

Tampa Bay's offensive prowess hasn't been as strong in the playoffs, with 34 goals in 13 games and two shutout losses against Detroit. 

Scott Audette/Getty Images

The key battle in the series will be Lundqvist's ability to stop Tyler Johnson from going off. The 24-year-old Lightning star has been incredible, with 12 points and eight goals in 13 games thus far. 

Dan Rosen of NHL.com took things even further, noting that Johnson's entire line has been close to unstoppable in the playoffs:

"

Johnson's line, which includes Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, has 17 goals and 14 assists in 13 games. Kucherov has six goals and 11 points; Palat has five assists and eight points.

Johnson had three dominant games in the first round against the Detroit Red Wings, including his two-goal performance in Tampa Bay's must-win Game 6, when his second goal was the game-winner. He also had two goals in Game 2, and two goals, including the winner, and an assist in Game 4.

"

Washington seemed to present a similar challenge given Alex Ovechkin's ability to find the net, but the Capitals lack the overall offensive depth Tampa Bay can bring. The Lightning had five players finish the regular season with more than 50 points; the Capitals had three. 

The Rangers have been carried by Lundqvist and defense throughout the playoffs. It's been their hallmark all year, and there's no reason to expect a change now, especially given how vital those skills will be against a team that thrives on the offensive end of the ice. 

The Special Teams Advantage

Bruce Kluckhohn/Getty Images

In the Western Conference, Chicago and Anaheim have hit their stride at the right time. The Blackhawks have been given a charge with the return of Patrick Kane, who has 13 points in 10 games after returning from the clavicle injury that kept him out for nearly two months. 

Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith have added a combined 21 points for the Blackhawks, giving them a trio as dominant as any unit in the playoffs, including the unit in Tampa Bay that was mentioned earlier. 

Thanks to the work of Kane, Toews and Keith, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune noted how much better it's made the Blackhawks' special teams:

"

A healthy and high-flying Kane has jump-started the Hawks' power play. The flashy winger is equally adept at creating scoring chances for both himself and his teammates and the Hawks' success rate with a man advantage has risen from 17.6 percent in the regular season to 20.0 in the playoffs. Toews, Keith, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa give the Hawks plenty of weapons.

"

Just as important as the thriving special teams has been the resurgence of Corey Crawford. Chicago's goalie looked lost in the first round against the Nashville Predators, allowing nine goals over 80 minutes in the first two games.

The turning point for Crawford was Game 6 against the Predators, when he stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief of Scott Darling. That series-clinching victory led to seven goals allowed in a four-game sweep against the Minnesota Wild. 

However, as good as those two elements of Chicago's roster have been lately, there are still flaws the Ducks can exploit. 

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Kuc noted that Anaheim's ability with a man advantage and Chicago's inability to stop teams with a man advantage are not to be overlooked:

"

The penalty kill is still a work-in-progress for the Hawks. After halting opponents' man advantages at an 83.4 percent pace in the regular season, the Hawks rank 12th in the playoffs at 72.7. Clearing the crease of Ducks will be critical for the Hawks as Anaheim will look to use its size to create traffic and screen goaltender Corey Crawford.

(Ryan) Getzlaf, (Corey) Perry and (Matt) Beleskey each have two power-play goals as the Ducks have been terrific on the power play. They top the league with a terrific 31.0 success rate in the playoffs after finishing 28th during the regular season at 15.7 percent. 

"

One common thread that has been running through predictions for this series, even among analysts like Matthew Coller of ESPN, is that the young tandem of Getzlaf and Perry would be worth taking over Kane and Toews for the next 10 years, but "it is hard not to lean toward the players who have won two Stanley Cups in the past five years."

That's not the most scientific way to make a pick. Experience hasn't hurt the Ducks thus far in the playoffs, losing one game in two series. Even though the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames aren't necessarily in Chicago's class, the Ducks have taken care of business in near-perfect fashion. 

The Blackhawks are playing as well as they have in a long time. They do need to shore up some holes on defense if they want to keep the Ducks off-balance, but this series is going to be fast and feature a lot of scoring on both sides.