NHL Playoff Schedule 2017: Updated Conference Finals Bracket and Outlook

With the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators deadlocked at 2-2 in the Eastern Conference Final, the Nashville Predators went ahead of the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in the Western Conference Final with a win Saturday night.

Considering how each series has gone back and forth, at least one of the two will likely need the full seven games to determine a conference champion.

Let's check in on the schedule for each conference final and look at where things stand for the four teams:

Game	Date
5	Sunday, May 21 at 3 p.m. ET
6	Tuesday, May 23 at 8 p.m. ET
7*	Thursday, May 25 at 8 p.m. ET

Game	Date
6	Monday, May 22 at 8 p.m. ET
7*	Wednesday, May 24 at 9 p.m. ET

The full playoff bracket is available on NHL.com. 

Nashville Predators vs. Anaheim Ducks

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Of course the Predators won on the road following an overtime defeat in which they scored the game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation. The Western Conference Final has lived up to the cliche of expect the unexpected.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, history puts Nashville in the driver's seat to close things out

The Predators will also have the luxury of playing Game 6 inside Bridgestone Arena, where the team had the seventh-best home record (24-8-9) in the league during the regular season. 

After the Predators fell in Game 4, Kristopher Martel of Fox Sports Tennessee wondered whether the defeat would be a blessing in disguise:

Martel's tweet may prove prophetic.

Nashville could've grown frustrated after going behind 1-0 Saturday night but instead scored three unanswered goals without the services of Mike Fisher and Ryan Johansen.

The Ducks, on the other hand, faded the longer the game went on. The Predators couldn't have asked any more from Pekka Rinne, either. The goaltender has been solid all series, and Game 5 featured his best performance:

The Ducks fell behind 2-0 in their series with the Edmonton Oilers before winning four of the next five games to advance to the conference final, and they stole a win on the road Thursday to even the Western Conference Final.

Still, Anaheim is in a precarious position with no margin for error.

Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

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Going off how the series has unfolded, the Senators are looking good to take a 3-2 lead Sunday in Game 5. Ottawa and Pittsburgh have alternated victories, with the Penguins winning Game 4 3-2.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan surprised some when he started Matt Murray ahead of Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. While Fleury surrendered four goals on the Senators' first nine shots in Game 3, it doesn't erase everything he has done and what he means to the franchise, as Chris Adamski of the Tribune-Review noted:

To his credit, Fleury took the benching in stride.

"I don't want to make this about me," he said after Game 4, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey. "Last playoff, this season, it's about the team. We won [Friday]. Scored some goals. That was nice."

The gamble didn't backfire for Pittsburgh, as Murray made 24 saves, but it would be overstating things to say his presence was the biggest factor in the Penguins tying the series. The Senators started slowly and didn't look themselves until the third period.

Granted, Murray did well to only allow one goal on Ottawa's final 10 shots.

It's not like replacing Fleury with Murray hurt the Penguins last year. Murray started the team's final 21 games as it captured its fourth Stanley Cup.

Should Murray struggle in Game 5, Sullivan may want to stay off the internet for a few days, and more importantly, the Senators could have an opportunity to clinch the series at home Tuesday night.

The way in which the Penguins attack played in Game 4 would seemingly point to a similarly strong performance in Game 5. But the Senators' response from their five-goal outburst in Game 3 was the complete opposite of that Friday night.

Momentum has swung wildly in both directions, so it wouldn't be a total surprise if Pittsburgh went missing Sunday afternoon.