NHL Playoffs 2016: Full Dates and TV Schedule for Conference Finals Round
Wasting no time after a heated second round, the NHL jumped right into the conference finals on Friday night.
A day after the conference semifinals concluded, the well-rested Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins commenced the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-1 victory for Tampa Bay. The final Eastern Conference representatives will take the weekend off before resuming play on Monday.
In the Western Conference, neither the St. Louis Blues nor San Jose Sharks will receive much time to celebrate their decisive Game 7 victory. Along with their similar paths to this conference final showdown, both teams share empty mantels, as neither franchise has won the Stanley Cup.
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Two teams will continue their climb to the championship, but the other pair will have come all this way for naught. Before skipping ahead, as many as 13 days of playoff hockey loom large.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
| 1 | May 13 | Lightning 3, Penguins 1 | ||
| 2 | May 16 | Lightning at Penguins | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 3 | May 18 | Penguins at Lightning | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 4 | May 20 | Penguins at Lightning | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 5* | May 22 | Lightning at Penguins | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 6* | May 24 | Penguins at Lightning | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 7* | May 26 | Lightning at Penguins | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
As the Penguins lament a missed opportunity, the Lightning won't feel the typical jubilance of a team that just won Game 1 on the road.
Already playing without Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay suffered two more key injuries on Friday night. Tyler Johnson, who leads the team with 13 postseason points, left late in the first period with a knee injury. While he later returned, Ben Bishop did not.
The goalie was carried off on a stretcher after suffering a leg injury. The 29-year-old, who also got hurt during last year's Stanley Cup run, has tallied a .939 save percentage during the playoffs. After the game, WFLA News' Paul Ryan relayed an update from head coach Jon Cooper:
Meanwhile, the Penguins chose to keep their veteran goalie a healthy scratch. Marc-Andre Fleury stayed seated in favor of Matt Murray, who has restricted the opposition to 22 goals over 10 games following Friday's game. Nevertheless, Game 1's loss could re-open the floodgates to switching back.
Per Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN Stats & Info), Murray represented the youngest starting goalie in a conference final since 1993. The 21-year-old ended up as the oldest goalie on the ice. Two months his junior, Andrei Vasilevskiy filled in masterfully for Bishop, saving 25 of 26 shots.
After starting this season in the AHL, he may suddenly be tasked with returning Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup Final. The 2012 first-round pick must keep curtailing a Pittsburgh offense that scored the third-most goals per game (2.7) this season.
The Penguins have won 22 of their last 28 games, but they squandered an opportunity to pick apart a wounded foe on their home ice.
St. Louis Blues vs. San Jose Sharks
| 1 | May 15 | Sharks at Blues | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 2 | May 17 | Sharks at Blues | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 3 | May 19 | Blues at Sharks | 9 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 4 | May 21 | Blues at Sharks | 7:15 p.m. | NBC |
| 5* | May 23 | Sharks at Blues | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 6* | May 25 | Blues at Sharks | 9 p.m. | NBC Sports |
| 7* | May 27 | Sharks at Blues | 8 p.m. | NBC Sports |
An NHL Game 7 is supposed to produce sports' most heart-stopping moments, but the Blues and Sharks didn't comply. St. Louis spared everyone the tension with a 6-1 blowout over the Dallas Stars, and the Sharks derailed all drama by dominating the Nashville Predators in a 5-0 shutout.
After waiting this long to hoist the Stanley Cup, they're forgiven for skipping the theatrics. Since losing their third straight Final in 1970, the aptly named Blues haven't won the West. The younger Sharks have made the postseason in 18 of the team's 24 seasons, but they have yet to surpass the conference final stage.
In the aftermath of Game 7 outbursts, the Blues (44) and Sharks (41) respectively rank No. 1 and 2 in postseason goals. This is especially good news for St. Louis, who finished the season No. 15 with 2.7 goals per contest while wielding the third-worst shot percentage (46.23) of all playoff participants, per NHL.com.
Both sides have also capitalized on power-play opportunities. St. Louis has netted a 27.5 conversion percentage, and San Jose sports a 30.9 percentage after ranking No. 3 in power-play offense (22.5 percent) during the regular season.
As pointed out by ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun, the Sharks should get more opportunities to utilize their strength:
"It just so happens that the aggressive, physical Blues have averaged more than 11 minutes in penalties a game in these playoffs while the Sharks have averaged the fewest penalty minutes of any of the 16 playoff teams. If the Sharks get on the power play more often than the Blues, that could be a major difference-maker.
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Along with avoiding penalties, the Blues must magnify their goalie advantage. Brian Elliott has registered 29.9 saves per postseason game, giving him 53 more saves (419) than runner-up Pekka Rinne.
Then again, Martin Jones keeps getting the job done, matching his regular-season .918 save percentage and yielding 26 goals in a dozen games. Per NHL Public Relations, he is also the first Sharks goalie to notch a Game 7 shutout.
After going the distance in consecutive rounds, the Blues could be headed toward another seven-game series.
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