NHL Playoff Schedule 2016: Updated Dates, TV Coverage and Projections

The St. Louis Blues struck first in Game 1 in the Western Conference Finals, while the Eastern Conference Finals shifts to Tampa Bay after the Pittsburgh Penguins needed only 40 seconds to even the series.

It's odd to see how these conference finals have come about. Both Eastern Conference finalists have won Stanley Cups in this century, while neither Western Conference team has ever had the chance to take a sip from Lord Stanley's cup.

History will be made either way, but there's still plenty of hockey left to be played in the NHL's conference finals.

Here's a look at upcoming dates, how to catch these games and what we can expect in the near future.

Western Conference Finals: San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues	Location	Time (ET)	TV
Eastern Conference Finals: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins	Location	Time (ET)	TV
Game 2 - May 17	Scottrade Center	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 3 - May 19	SAP Center	9 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 4 - May 21	SAP Center	7:15 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 5 - May 23 (if necessary)	Scottrade Center	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 6 - May 25 (if necessary)	SAP Center	9 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 7 - May 27 (if necessary)	Scottrade Center	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 3 - May 18	Amalie Arena	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 4 - May 20	Amalie Arena	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 5 - May 22	Consol Energy Center	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 6 - May 24 (if necessary)	Amalie Arena	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 7 - May 26 (if necessary)	Consol Energy Center	8 p.m.	NBCSN

San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues

If Game 1 of this series is any indication for what's to come, expect even battles throughout.

The Blues are up 1-0 after their 2-1 win on Sunday night in Game 1. St. Louis goaltender Brian Elliott was masterful after giving up a late first-period goal, recording 31 saves, including a couple of highlight-worthy stops with the game nearing its end.

In the midst of Elliott's stellar performance, the San Jose Sharks learned they can hang with the Blues for as long as they don't turn the puck over. Jori Lehtera's second-period goal ended up being the game-winning goal. He corralled a loose puck at center ice and rifled the puck past San Jose goalie Martin Jones.

The Blues can score at any time, and showed how lethal their attack can be during their second-round series against the Dallas Stars. St. Louis' offense will take advantage of lackadaisical defense at any point, much like it did in a six-goal effort in Game 7 against Dallas.

San Jose's defense, other than the power-play goal allowed in the first period and Lehtera's game-winning slap shot, played very well. The Blues recorded only 23 shots and blocked the puck 14 times. The Sharks did a good job at getting plenty of scoring opportunities thanks to their defense, but just didn't put the puck in the back of the net.

Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury-News noted the Sharks need to take advantage of those opportunities or they won't last in this series:

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They need to cash in, or else they will cash out -- just as every other Sharks team has done when it has reached the National Hockey League's version of the Final Four. In their three previous trips to the conference championship series, the beloved Los Tiburones have managed to lose both Game 1 and Game 2 -- before going on to lose all three of those series.

So far, you could say that history is repeating itself, with a now-critical Game 2 coming up Tuesday night. One of hockey's maddening elements is that a team can dominate a period, as the Sharks did in the second -- outshooting St. Louis 16-5 -- and still lose the period 1-0.

"

The Sharks haven't played well on the road since the first round, and their struggles in Nashville should be a concern heading into Game 2. They hung with the Blues, but they need to do more than hang in order to even this series heading back to San Jose. Despite those concerns, expect San Jose to even this series on Tuesday. The Sharks' offense can't be held down for long.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have made it a series.

All it took was Sidney Crosby breaking out of his eight-game goalless streak for it to happen.

Crosby's game-winning goal 40 seconds into overtime tied the Eastern Conference Finals at a game apiece, and the Tampa Bay Lightning head back home for Games 3 and 4 wondering what could have been.

Tampa Bay had a golden opportunity to return home with a 2-0 lead, even when they came back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game late in the first period. The Lightning shot fewer attempts as the game went on, compared to their eight shots in the opening 20 minutes.

But Pittsburgh was the more aggressive team for all 60 minutes, 40 seconds. Pittsburgh outshot Tampa Bay 41-21 with 16 of them coming in the third period. The Penguins even got three shots off in overtime. That's one shot every 13 seconds, while the Lightning offense was stifled.

Despite 38 saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy in relief of Ben Bishop, the dam was bound to break eventually.

"[Vasilevskiy] was outstanding," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "You never want to lose your No. 1 guy in (Bishop) but ... Vasi was probably the reason why the game went to overtime in the first place."

Tampa Bay should feel good about Vasilevskiy's performance the last game-and-a-half, but this could also be a turning point for Crosby.

For Pittsburgh to make it this far with Crosby being a goal-scoring afterthought shows how deep the Penguins are and why they should be considered a legitimate Stanley Cup favorite.

"It feels good to get rewarded," Crosby said, per the AP. "I feel we deserved it tonight."

The Lightning accomplished what they needed to do in Game 1, and the Penguins responded the way they needed to on Monday. It's an even series, but if this is what Crosby needed to get back on track in the goal scoring department, the Lightning may need center Steven Stamkos—still recovering from a blood clot procedure—sooner rather than later.