NHL Playoff Schedule 2016: Latest Dates, TV Coverage for Stanley Cup Bracket

The Dallas Stars have to find a way to answer quickly, or their stay in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs will be a short one.

After winning Game 1 of the series, the Stars have watched the St. Louis Blues seize control of the series with two straight victories.

While the Stars made a nice comeback in the third period of Game 2 on home ice last Sunday to send the game into overtime, the Blues steamrolled them 6-1 in St. Louis Tuesday night.

The Stars will have to tighten their defense and find a way to get to St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott. It will not be easy because the Blues have found a big-time leader in Troy Brouwer.

Brouwer is not the Blues' leading scorer in the playoffs, as that honor falls to Vladimir Tarasenko with five goals and four assists in 10 games. Brouwer has three goals and three assists, but all three of his goals were vital. 

He scored the series-winner in Game 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, and then he added key goals in Games 2 and 3 against the Stars. Both of those goals gave St. Louis two-goal advantages, and he allowed his teammates to stand a little taller, knowing they were in charge of both games.

The Blues have scored 10 goals in their last two games, and they may not slow down when they host the Stars in Game 4 Thursday night.

It seems clear that the Stars are having issues with goalies Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, as they pulled both goaltenders in each of the last two games.

However, defenseman Alex Goligoski told NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin that goaltending was not the team's issue. 

"It hasn't been a goalie issue, really," Goligoski said. "We're giving up some big chances at bad times, early in games. We're putting pucks in places we're not supposed to, and they've been a little harder on some battles and put 'em in the back of our net. Give them a little credit.

"But losing confidence in our goalies is not an issue. It's our game. It's been that way all season."

Game	Series Standings	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Dallas at St. Louis	St. Louis, 2-1	May 5	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
San Jose at Nashville	San Jose, 2-1	May 5	9 p.m.	CNBC, SN, TVAS2
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Islanders	Tampa Bay, 2-1	May 6	7 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
St. Louis at Dallas	St. Louis, 2-1	May 7	1 p.m.	NBC, TVAS, SN
Pittsburgh at Washington	Pittsburgh, 3-1	May 7	7:15 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS
Nashville at San Jose	San Jose, 2-1	May 7	10 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

Goligoski may be trying to take up the cause of his goaltenders, but neither Lehtonen nor Niemi has played impressively.

While St. Louis' Elliott has a 2.25 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage in the postseason, Lehtonen has a 2.70 GAA and a .903 save percentage, and Niemi is lagging further behind with a 3.33 GAA and an .872 save percentage.

The Stars have plenty of firepower with Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza and John Klingberg firing away, but they need to do better on the defensive end.

They have to stop giving the Blues scoring chances, but they also need their beleaguered goaltenders to upgrade their performances Thursday night and play like a championship is depending on it.

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

The San Jose Sharks were rolling along through the first two games of their series with the Nashville Predators, but a trip to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville got the home team going.

The Preds secured a 4-1 victory in their first game at home Tuesday night, but the Sharks seem determined not to let the home team square the series in Game 4.

Per NHL.com's Robby Stanley, Joe Pavelski said the Sharks were fairly good in the loss at Nashville but that the team must turn up the competition level to secure the road victory:

"

We're in a good spot. They played a better game than us [in Game 3]. We were definitely a little bit better, I think, in some areas, but the compete level has to go up. They're going to bring another tough game, you know that. It's an exciting building to play in. It's fun, it's loud. Just reset, do a couple of things better and go out there.

"

The Sharks have shown plenty of scoring talent through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Brent Burns leads the team with 11 points, while Pavelski and Logan Couture have 10 points each.

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Sharks had won their three previous playoff road games, and if they can get a couple of early goals, there's no reason why they can't improve their postseason road record to 4-1.

The Predators were much quicker in their transition game when they returned home, and Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette said his team must continue to play with speed if it is going to level the series.

"That's the new look of the NHL," Laviolette said, per Stanley. "If you can get your puck out of your end quick, whether it's skating or passing, and if your defenseman can deliver that, the quicker you can get it through the neutral zone, the quicker you can get into the offensive zone."

If San Jose can get off to a better start in this game, it may be a bit too much for the home team to handle.