NHL Playoffs 2016: Wednesday Vegas Odds, Schedule and Predictions

Two games apiece have been played in both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins are tied at one game apiece in the East, while the San Jose Sharks went up 2-0 on the St. Louis Blues with a 4-0 win on Tuesday night. 

Wednesday night brings Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final to Tampa Bay as we take a look at the remaining schedule for both series:

Eastern Conference Final
Western Conference Final
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Game 3 @ Lightning	Wednesday, May 18	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 4 @ Lightning	Friday, May 20	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 5 @ Penguins	Sunday, May 22	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 6 @ Lightning*	Tuesday, May 24	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 7 @ Penguins*	Thursday, May 26	8 p.m.	NBCSN
San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Game 3 @ Sharks	Thursday, May 19	9 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 4 @ Sharks	Saturday, May 21	7:15 p.m.	NBC
Game 5 @ Blues	Monday, May 23	8 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 6 @ Sharks*	Wednesday, May 25	9 p.m.	NBCSN
Game 7 @ Blues*	Friday, May 27	8 p.m.	NBCSN

Here's what Vegas expects heading into Wednesday night's game:

Date	Time (ET)	Odds
Wednesday, May 18	8 p.m.	TB -1.5

Eastern Conference Predictions

Short-Handed Bolts Won't Stop the Pens

It would have been difficult enough for a healthy Lightning team to take down a Penguins team that's won 22 of their last 28 games dating back to the regular season. 

But their captain and leading scorer Steven Stamkos is still trying to come back from a blood clot issue that's held him out of the Lightning lineup since March 31. 

Stamkos spoke with Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times about his status, stressing that he wasn't putting his life in danger for the Stanley Cup.

"

No rush at all. We've done our due diligence. It's been a process. Safety first, health first. It hasn't changed. I know as an athlete, you're willing to do whatever it takes. Trust me, I've tried. But that's the toughest part, for sure, to try to walk that line.

"

It's bad enough that the Lightning don't have Stamkos; it's even worse that they are without their starting goalie and Vezina Trophy candidate Ben Bishop, who sustained a lower body injury in Game 1. 

However, head coach Jon Cooper told Smith he's "optimistic" that Bishop could return this series.

If he does return, it might be too late, as Pittsburgh is proving to be the deepest, most dangerous team left in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Andrei Vasilevskiy has performed admirably in this series, but he won't be able to keep up with the onslaught that's the Penguins attack. 

The Penguins are getting scoring from all of their lines, and Sidney Crosby finally broke out of his eight-game scoring slump with the overtime winner in Game 2 to even the series.