NHL Playoff Schedule 2016: TV Coverage, Live Stream Guide and Monday Game Times

The Anaheim Ducks have reversed their situation after a difficult start to the NHL playoffs.

While they started the postseason as one of the Western Conference favorites, the Ducks began their playoff series against the Nashville Predators as if they were taking a stroll through the park.

The feisty Predators won the first two games at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and neither victory was a fluke. They simply outplayed the Ducks by outskating and outworking them, and Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau was more than a little bit angry.

He complained of his team's "stupid" play to reporters and offered no excuses as his team traveled across the country to play at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

The trip apparently did quite a bit for the Ducks, as they won decisively as visitors and tied the series with 3-0 and 4-1 victories.

While Nashville had a chance to regain its road advantage when it kept Game 5 scoreless well past the halfway point and then took a 1-0 lead, the Ducks came storming back and took the pivotal game by a 5-2 margin. As a result, the Ducks have a chance to end the series Monday night in Nashville if they can record their fourth consecutive victory in the series.

Normally, taking a 3-2 edge by winning the fifth game is a strong indication that a team will advance to the next round. However, the Ducks had 3-2 advantages in the last three years against the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks and lost all three series.

Boudreau believes his team's experience can help improve its approach this time around. 

"I think experience is the best teacher," Boudreau told Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com. "What didn't work one time, you try something different until you find a formula that is a pretty good formula and let's keep it going this way."

The Preds are hoping forward Craig Smith returns to the lineup for Game 6. Smith scored 21 goals this season, but he went out early in Game 3 with a lower-body injury and has not been back since. Smith skated Sunday, and his return would give the Nashville offense a bit more bite.

Head coach Peter Laviolette says the team's current three-game losing streak has not taken away any of its focus. 

"I think that there's a big belief that if we go out and play that way and play determined hockey that we can beat any team in the league," Laviolette told Robby Stanley of NHL.com.

Look for the Ducks to put their close-out problems behind them and find a way to pull out the series with a victory in Game 6.

Game	Series Standings	Time (ET)	TV
Anaheim at Nashville	Anaheim, 3-2	8 p.m.	CNBC, TVAS, SN, FS-TN, FS-W
Chicago at St. Louis	3-3	8:30 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, FS-MW, CSN-CH

The playoff games can be live streamed on NHL.TV.

The St. Louis Blues have one more chance to close out the Blackhawks, but they have failed to win the series in their first two opportunities.

As a result, it's nervous time for head coach Ken Hitchcock and his team as the Blues return to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis for the seventh game of the series.

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Based on history, the Blackhawks have to feel good about their chances. They have a slew of proven playoff stars in Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Corey Crawford and a remarkable ability to finish off opponents when they have gotten the opportunity.

Chicago won the Western Conference Finals a year ago by coming from behind and winning the decisive game on the road at Anaheim. The Blackhawks have won three Stanley Cups since 2010.

The postseason has been quite cruel to the Blues. They last won a postseason series when they defeated the San Jose Sharks in 2011-12. The Kings smoked them in the following round in four straight games, and the Blues have since dropped three straight first-round series.

The Blues won't be able to escape their history until they step onto the ice in St. Louis and start competing in Game 7. Until that time, past playoff failures will appear in stories like this and throughout the media.

The Blackhawks won Games 5 and 6 by finding their offensive touch. They scored 10 goals in the past two games, and one of head coach Joel Quenneville's key moves was putting Kane and Toews on the same line.

"When we went to those lines, I thought we had balance," Quenneville told reporters Sunday. "I think that was what we were looking for. Putting Kaner and Tazer (together), we always find that's when we're in a real bad spot or tough spot. We tried that and we felt that we had more balance. With the way the lines turned out in the game, we liked the way we played."

If the Blues can't slow down Chicago's offense in Game 7, it will be another long offseason for St. Louis.