NHL Playoffs 2015: Stanley Cup Conference Finals Schedule and Predictions

Four teams left. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, we're down to four teams, four of the talented, deepest and most exciting teams in hockey this season. And it has already meant some truly awesome action for fans of the sport.

Below, we'll take a look at the remaining schedule for the conference finals and provide a prediction and analysis for the rest of each series. 

Schedule

Game	Date	Matchup (Even 1-1)	Time (ET)	TV
Game	Date	Matchup (ANA leads 1-0)	Time (ET)	TV
3	Wed., May 20	N.Y. Rangers at Tampa Bay	8 p.m.	NBCSN
4	Fri., May 22	N.Y. Rangers at Tampa Bay	8 p.m.	NBCSN
5*	Sun., May 24	Tampa Bay at N.Y. Rangers	8 p.m.	NBCSN
6*	Tues., May 26	N.Y. Rangers at Tampa Bay	8 p.m.	NBCSN
7*	Fri., May 29	Tampa Bay at N.Y. Rangers	8 p.m.	NBCSN
2	Tues., May 19	Chicago at Anaheim	9 p.m.	NBCSN
3	Thurs., May 21	Anaheim at Chicago	8 p.m.	NBCSN
4	Sat., May 23	Anaheim at Chicago	8 p.m.	NBC
5*	Mon., May 25	Chicago at Anaheim	9 p.m.	NBCSN
6*	Wed., May 27	Anaheim at Chicago	8 p.m.	NBCSN
7*	Sat., May 30	Chicago at Anaheim	8 p.m.	NBCSN

Prediction: New York Rangers Win in Six Games

Game 1 is how the New York Rangers would likely love this series to go. Henrik Lundqvist was excellent, the defense stifled the Tampa Bay Lightning's explosive attack and Dominic Moore scored a late game-winner to take the early series lead.

The team's depth, versatility and balance was fully on display, and the Lightning could never get into a rhythm.

In Game 2, however, the Lightning played their game. They used their skill and speed to create multiple odd-man rushes, Tyler Johnson notched a hat trick—he leads the team this postseason with 11 goals and 16 points—and Ben Bishop made several key saves in the team's 6-2 victory. 

The Lightning are dangerous, yes, but the Rangers are the better overall side (even if Tampa dominated the regular-season series). This is a Rangers side that doesn't have any discernible weaknesses and showed against a tough Washington team that they could overcome adversity and make the key plays in the clutch to advance. 

Tampa Bay is going to be a tough out. But the Rangers are going back to the Stanley Cup Final.

Prediction: Chicago Blackhawks Win in Seven Games

The Chicago Blackhawks have dealt with deficits before, so losing the opening game to the very big, very skilled, very physical Anaheim Ducks won't worry them too much.

Far from it, as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote:

"

The Hawks were cool and confident following Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. They were loose and optimistic following Monday’s practice at the Honda Center. Win or lose, it’s always the same: Back to work. The way the Hawks see it, dwelling on the past is a loser’s mentality.

“That [frustration] is still there, but our understanding, especially the leadership group in this room, knows there’s really no reason to be thinking about what happened on the ice for 24 hours a day,” said Hawks captain Jonathan Toews, who famously did just that in his early years, but has since gained a greater perspective. “We did a good job [Sunday] of moving on, we had a good practice [Monday], and we’re confident and we feel good about the opportunity we have [Tuesday]. It definitely is a learned skill, learning how to handle that and move on to the next task.”

"

When you have players like Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook, among others, who have been through the battles in the past, well, a solitary loss isn't going to resonate. 

Make no mistake about it, of course—the Anaheim Ducks are very, very good. Hampus Lindholm, Nate Thompson and Jakob Silfverberg each scored a goal and tallied an assist in Game 1, giving the top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Maroon a reprieve after that line helped carry the Ducks through the first two rounds. 

Ryan Kesler, meanwhile, seems sure to be a thorn in Toews' side throughout, and goalie Frederik Andersen was superb in Game 1. 

But this is par for the course for this Blackhawks generation. They've faced bigger deficits before and came back to win. Perhaps Anaheim's rare combination of size and skill—along with the confidence it brought into this series—will push it to the limit.

Just don't expect the Blackhawks to shrink away from the challenge. They've proven too many times in the past that they don't shy away from a fight.