NHL Playoff Schedule 2016: Complete Dates and TV Info for Conference Finals

While both the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks know there is plenty of work to do before either has a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup, both teams can feel a sense of relief they are playing in the Western Conference Final.

Prior to this year's playoffs, the Blues and the Sharks were two of the biggest postseason underachievers in the NHL. No matter what either team had done in the regular season—this year or in the past—both teams were viewed as chokers.

That's no longer the case. The Blues have a pair of seven-game triumphs under their belt this spring. One of them came against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, and taking out Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Co. was a huge step for this team.

Game	Series Standing	Date	Time (ET)	TV
San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues	0-0	May 15	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
Tampa Bay Lightning at Pittsburgh Penguins	Tampa Bay, 1-0	May 16	8 p.m.	BCSN, CBC, TVAS

So was beating the Dallas Stars, especially when their seventh-game victory came on the road. The Blues showed their talent and all-around depth in that series, as they were the much stronger defensive team and also had the better goaltending.

The Sharks also overcame past failures that had weighed on them. They defeated an obvious demon when they beat the Los Angeles Kings in five games in the first round. They lost a painful seven-game series to the Kings in 2013, when each team won all its home games and L.A. had the extra home game. The following year, the Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 lead and then lost four straight games to the Kings.

The hangover from that defeat was relentless, and the Sharks did not even make the playoffs last year.

The Sharks followed up that triumph by beating the Nashville Predators in seven games, and while they blew an opportunity to win the sixth game in Music City, they played a near-perfect game when they took out the Preds 5-0 in the finale.

Ben Margot/Associated Press

The two teams should have a memorable series since both are fast, physical and skilled. The Sharks are going to depend on their three leading scorers for the bulk of their offense. Logan Couture has scored seven goals and 10 assists in 12 games, Brent Burns has scored 15 points and Joe Pavelski has scored 13.

The Blues have plenty of firepower as well in rookie Robby Fabbri, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and David Backes. St. Louis has demonstrated an ability to score key goals at big moments.

From a statistical point of view, the Sharks are the better offensive team, ranking fourth with an average of 2.8902 goals per game compared to the Blues' mark of 2.6707, which ranked 15th.

However, St. Louis is the more efficient defensive team. That strength was probably the biggest reason they defeated the Stars in the second round. St. Louis did an excellent job of clearing the Stars out of the offensive zone, and goaltender Brian Elliott was also on top of his game in goal (2.19 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage).

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Brian Elliott goes to West Final (Gm1 Sunday) with chance to tie #1 on this list if he can help #stlblues win series pic.twitter.com/h51eh4Xb7L

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) May 15, 2016"

That could be one area where the Blues have an advantage. While Martin Jones (2.16 GAA, .918 save percentage) was good in the Sharks' net in both their series to date, he gave up overtime goals to the Predators in the fourth and sixth games. That could make the Sharks vulnerable if any of the Western Conference Final games go to an extra session.

The Blues and Sharks will play the first game of the series Sunday night in St. Louis at 8 p.m. ET.

There is already drama in the Eastern Conference Final, with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning Game 1 on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Lightning showed a strong team defense and opportunistic scoring in their 3-1 victory, but an injury to goalie Ben Bishop could prove problematic throughout the rest of the series.

Bishop appeared to injure his leg when he fell awkwardly in the first period, and he was removed from the game on stretcher. 

While the injury looked traumatic, Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said Bishop is day-to-day, per Brian Compton of NHL.com. Andrei Vasilevskiy came in and replaced Bishop, and he stopped 25 of 26 Pittsburgh shots.

Vasilevskiy moved well and played with confidence, but Bishop is a Vezina Trophy finalist and is the better option when healthy.

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Stat from @NHLNetwork Vasilevskiy 1st goalie since Olie Kolzig in 95&96 to earn first 2 career playoff in relief

— Erik Erlendsson (@Erik_Erlendsson) May 14, 2016"

The Penguins were clearly the better team in their series against the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, and they need to assert themselves in Game 2 at home Monday night (8 p.m. ET) if they are going to get back into this series.