Stanley Cup Playoffs 2015: Updated Schedule and Title Odds Before Game 7 Action

Hockey fans will get a much-needed breather after a duo of Game 7s over the weekend that will decide who moves on to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.

Virtually every night over the last month, NHL obsessors have gotten their fill of gripping postseason action, with seven-game series and overtime thrillers galore. The conference finals round has only followed suit, producing a Game 7 in both instances that will lead to a star-studded showdown for the Cup.

Before that takes place, let's take a look at the schedule and updated Stanley Cup odds for the teams still left standing.

NHL Conference Finals Game 7 Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Game: Matchup	TV
Fri., May 29	8 p.m.	Game 7: Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers	NBCSN
Sat., May 30	8 p.m.	Game 7: Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks	NBC

Odds to Win 2015 Stanley Cup

Team	Odds
New York Rangers	2-1
Anaheim Ducks	9-4
Chicago Blackhawks	5-2
Tampa Bay Lightning	9-2

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark. Last updated May 28.

Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

The Tampa Bay Lightning have seemingly been in control since the early moments of the Eastern Conference Final, but they face an impossibly tough task for Game 7.

After dispatching the New York Rangers in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead, all the Lightning had to do was win Game 6 at home to advance to the Cup Final. However, that didn't materialize. Ben Bishop conceded five goals in Game 6, and Tampa Bay got embarrassed 7-3 in a potential closeout game and forked over a golden opportunity, as told by Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski:

To ensure that won't be the lasting memory of the Lightning's season, they have Game 7 to make up for it. They will have to repeat the success of a Game 7 win over Detroit in the first round that helped get them here. But it won't be nearly as simple as that win proved to be.

Not only are the Rangers a perfect 7-0 in Game 7s at Madison Square Garden, but their offense has also never been more confident after hanging a touchdown on the Lightning in Game 6. Tampa Bay can come in confident after winning two of three thus far at MSG in the series, but as history dictates, Game 7 is a different story.

But for all of the history that will precede Friday's game, it's all filler because Lightning and Rangers players will be the ones deciding how the history books will be written from here on out. Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper indicated as much to Bryan Burns of the team's official website:

New York maintains all of the momentum, but Tampa Bay has been in more dire positions in these playoffs. Both squads will leave it all out on the ice as a goaltending duel between a struggling Bishop and a surging Henrik Lundqvist promises to decide this one.

Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

The Anaheim Ducks have long aspired to dethrone the Chicago Blackhawks as the true Western Conference power in the league, but they knew it wouldn't be easy. With Game 7 looming on the West Coast, nothing could be closer to the truth.

Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Co. have never trailed in the series, but they have also failed to sustain any sort of momentum. The Ducks have taken a series lead with each of their three wins, but they also dropped a pair of multi-overtime games before falling 5-2 in Game 6 in Chicago.

As head coach Bruce Boudreau elaborated after Wednesday night's loss, none of those results matter anymore. It all comes down to Game 7, and the Ducks have it in their building, as the team's Twitter noted:

The Blackhawks' recent offensive explosion should have Ducks fans awfully nervous, with Chicago producing 14 goals in its last three games. That comes after an opening three games in which the Blackhawks scored just five times.

But much of that can be attributed to a couple of average performances from Frederik Andersen, who nearly ruined the Ducks' season by surrendering two late goals that allowed Chicago to send Game 5 into overtime. Anaheim bailed him out in the extra period, but it couldn't do the same when he allowed four goals in Game 6.

Andersen has been magnificent throughout much of the postseason, but he'll need to find his consistency in a hurry if the Ducks aspire to break a NHL record Saturday, as told by ESPN Stats & Info:

Although that would be quite the accomplishment, I'm going to go out on a limb and say they'll take a win no matter how it comes. But doing so will require dethroning the Western Conference's king over the last several years.