NHL Playoff Schedule 2017: Updated Dates, TV Coverage and Projections
Close games have been a staple in the 2017 NHL playoffs, and the conference finals are living up to that billing thus far as each series is knotted at 1-1.
Home-ice advantage has been neutralized for the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins, as each squad has dropped an overtime contest. However, both rebounded with Game 2 wins, and the Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators will have to up their games moving forward.
With that in mind, let us take a look at the updated schedule for the remainder of this postseason round. Continue for a breakdown of where each series stands after two games.
TOP NEWS
.png?w=256 "NHL Mock Draft")
Who Will Panthers Take at No. 9 ? 🤔
.jpg?w=256 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
Could Isles Trade for Kucherov? 🤯
.png?w=256)
Draft Lottery Winners and Losers
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators | 3 | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators | 3 | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators | 4 | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators | 4 | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks | 5 | 7:15 p.m. | NBC | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins | 5 | 3 p.m. | NBC | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators | 6* | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators | 6* | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks | 7* | 9 p.m. | NBCSN | NBC Sports Live |
| Matchup | Game | Start Time (ET) | Network | Live Stream |
| Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins | 7* | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | NBC Sports Live |
Anaheim vs. Nashville
After controlling play and failing to be outshot in its last series against the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim is obviously facing a much stronger challenge this round. In two games, Nashville won the shot battle both time, holding a substantial 79-56 advantage overall.
Yet, the Ducks offense was strong enough in Game 2, as they exploded for five goals against Pekka Rinne, who leads all goaltenders in goals-against average and save percentage this postseason. Anaheim bouncing back should not have come as a surprise, though, as Sportsnet noted the team excels when trailing in the playoffs:
Anaheim has more offensive depth along with the best player in the series in Ryan Getzlaf, but John Gibson is the team's X-factor. He has struggled to the tune of a 2.80 GAA and a .911 this postseason, but Gibson has been solid in this series with six goals allowed on 79 shots.
The young goaltender has been criticized often of late, but Anaheim, per general manager Bob Murray, seems to have full confidence that he can brush off adversity, which was evident after they overcame an abysmal Game 2 start to earn the win.
"He comes off a little bit different," said Murray, via ESPN.com's Andrew Knoll. "But the one thing about it is that if he has a bad night—we all have bad nights—he's very resilient. He comes back, and he's always done that."
Gibson needs to stay sharp moving forward, as Rinne and Nashville are not likely to be shredded defensively often this series despite Anaheim's excellent attack. The Predators allowed more than three goals for the first time all postseason in Game 2, as they boast arguably the league's best top-four defensive group in Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi and P.K. Subban.
As a result, solid goal support typically ends up as a win for Nashville, which makes Game 2 an anomaly, per Fox Sports Tennessee's Kristopher Martel:
This makes Nashville such a tough matchup for an Anaheim team that is tied for the playoff lead with 3.23 goals per game. The Ducks play an up-and-down tempo that emphasizes defensemen taking chances and jumping into the play.
So long as Rinne keeps up his current postseason form, Nashville's defense should win out in this series. Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen are dominating offensively, which should help the Predators score enough goals to be favored moving forward.
Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa
The Penguins rebounded with a tight 1-0 victory in Game 2, but any success for the defending Stanley Cup champions this series is coming at a cost.
Already without world-class defenseman Kris Letang, Pittsburgh saw Bryan Rust and Justin Schultz leave Monday's games after nasty collisions, while Carl Hagelin has been banged up and Patric Hornqvist missed Game 2. These injuries are testing the team's depth, which was a strength heading into the postseason.
Ottawa is also not being shy about the way it wants to play. The Senators clog up the middle of the ice and the neutral zone, forcing Pittsburgh and all of its speed to skate to the outside before trying to make a play through traffic into scoring areas.
The Penguins finally caught a bounce in the third period, as Phil Kessel took a blocked shot and put it past a stumbling Craig Anderson. This looks to be how Pittsburgh, the league's highest-scoring team in the regular season and playoffs, will have to win games this series, and head coach Mike Sullivan acknowledged that after Game 2.
"We don't have to win a game 7-6," Sullivan said, per PennLive.com's Lauren Kirschman. "We can win a game 1-0 just like we did tonight as long as we make sure we embrace that challenge and don't feed the other team's transition game."
Unlike Game 1, Ottawa's conservative style did not lead to much of anything in regards to transition chances. The team went nearly 19 minutes over the second and third periods without a shot on goal, as their forecheck failed to create much pressure to complement its clogging of center ice.
Goaltending looks to be a wash in this series. Anderson has been brilliant with just two goals allowed on 57 shots, and Marc-Andre Fleury has matched that with two goals allowed on 58 shots. The Pittsburgh goalie also recorded his second shutout this postseason, putting him in elite company among his active peers, per The Hockey News:
Pittsburgh looks to have figured out how to stop Ottawa offensively while grinding away for goals, so it should be favored moving forward. However, each team is surprisingly missing production from its marquee players.
Sidney Crosby does not have a point in two games to go with just four shots, and Erik Karlsson also has no points despite averaging roughly 28 minutes per night. This is more problematic for the Senators, as Pittsburgh can still depend on production from Kessel and Evgeni Malkin when Crosby is struggling. Unless Karlsson can take his game to an even higher level than it has been all postseason, it is tough to believe Ottawa can generate enough firepower to advance in this series.
Statistics are courtesy of NHL.com unless otherwise noted.
.png?w=480 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=480 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
