NHL Playoff Schedule 2016: TV Information, Predictions for Conference Finals

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been the hottest team in the league down the home stretch of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. Nevertheless, they have some serious work to do on Monday night if they are going to avoid trouble in their Eastern Conference Final series with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Head coach Mike Sullivan has made some key decisions prior to Game 2, and perhaps the most impactful one is to keep Matt Murray in goal and leave Marc-Andre Fleury as the backup.

Sullivan addressed the decision when speaking with reporters:

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He has a maturity level beyond his years. I think he responds to adversity extremely well. He has a really good work ethic and preparation process that he puts himself in a position to be successful, and he's a very good goalie. He's made timely saves throughout the course of this playoffs and leading up to the playoffs that have given our team a chance to win.

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Sullivan's statement strongly backs Murray and doesn't indicate any hesitation or second thoughts.

While Fleury has a strong reputation as one of the better goalies in the NHL, he has had his share of difficulties in the playoffs throughout his career.

He had a save percentage lower than .900 for four consecutive years from 2010 through 2013, and while he has been a bit better in each of the last two years, his performance over the last two playoff years was not overwhelming. Pittsburgh lost in the second round in 2014 and the first round in 2015.

Series	Standings	Next Game	Time (ET)	TV	Series Prediction
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins	Tampa Bay, 1-0	May 16	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS	Pittsburgh in 7
San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues	St. Louis, 1-0	May 17	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS	St. Louis in 7

Murray has a 7-3 record during the postseason with a 2.15 goals-against average and .929 save percentage, and he has backstopped the Penguins to victories over the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals in the first two rounds.

The Penguins dropped a 3-1 decision to the Lightning in Game 1 at the Consol Energy Center.

While Sullivan is not making any changes in goal, he appeared to be making some moves with three of his four lines in practice on Sunday. Wes Crosby of NHL.com reported that Patric Hornqvist moved from right wing on Sidney Crosby's line to the same position on Evgeni Malkin's line, and Bryan Rust moved up to take Hornqvist's position.

Eric Fehr had been skating on Malkin's right side, and he was moved down to the fourth line. Sullivan's explanation of the potential moves was simple: He wants to give his team the best chance to win.

The Lightning have their own issues in goal, where No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop left Saturday's game in the first period after suffering a lower-body injury. Bishop told Brian Compton of NHL.com that the X-ray was negative and the MRI also checked out. 

As a result, Bishop is considered day-to-day. Andrei Vasilevskiy came in for Bishop and could get the start on Monday night after stopping 25 of 26 shots in Game 1.

The Western Conference Final got off to a relatively tame start as the St. Louis Blues held serve and defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-1 at home on Sunday night in Game 1 of the series. 

After David Backes of the Blues and Tomas Hertl exchanged goals 34 seconds apart in the first period, Jori Lehtera scored on a slap shot from the left wing at the 9:15 mark of the second period. Lehtera did not appear to get everything on the shot, but it found a hole and eluded San Jose netminder Martin Jones.

Brian Elliott had 31 saves for the Blues and made the goal stand up. The two teams will meet in Game 2 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on Tuesday night.

Predictions

The Penguins have been playing sensational hockey since early in March. They won 14 of their final 16 regular-season games before vanquishing New York in five games and upsetting Washington in six games. Now they are in a crucial position, as they don't want to lose the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final at home.

The decision to keep Murray in net makes sense because he has played well throughout the playoffs and Fleury has not seen game action since March 31, and his playoff track record is troubling.

The Penguins need Crosby and Malkin to step up, and look for the Penguins to get a lift from their superstars. We see the Penguins winning Game 2 and ultimately taking the series in seven games.

The Sharks won their second-round series against the Nashville Predators in seven games, with each team winning their home games. If the Western Conference Final against the Blues follows the same pattern, St. Louis will win the series.

Both teams have had good moments on the road, and San Jose will have a breakthrough in Game 2. The Blues have been vulnerable on their home ice, and look for the Sharks to jump out to an early lead and square the series.

However, St. Louis is just a little bit stronger in goal with Elliott having the edge over Jones, and the Blues will win their third consecutive seven-game series to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1970.