NHL Playoffs 2019: Updated Schedule, Stanley Cup Odds and Picks

The panic bell has been sounded in Tampa, Florida, after the first two games of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Eastern Conference's top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning have dropped their first two games at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets and seem to be nothing like the team that ran through the regular season with 62 victories and clinched the Presidents' Trophy with weeks to go in the regular season.

The Blue Jackets have outscored the Lightning 10-1 since falling behind 3-0 in the first period of Game 1 of the playoffs. Columbus has outskated and outplayed a team that dominated nearly all of its opponents during the regular season.

This team of stars that includes Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Victor Hedman must come through with a victory Sunday in Game 3 at Columbus, or the Lightning will fall into a nearly inescapable 3-0 hole.

One name missing from that list is Nikita Kucherov, who has been suspended for one game by the NHL's Department of Player Safety after he was tossed from Friday night's 5-1 loss late in the third period for boarding Columbus defenseman Markus Nutivaara. The league's leading scorer (128 points) received a two-minute penalty, a five-minute major and a game misconduct at the time.

The Winnipeg Jets also lost the first two games of their series with the resurgent St. Louis Blues. Both of these teams are following the patterns they had at the end of the regular season. The Jets limped into the playoffs with a 4-5-1 record over the last 10 games, while the Blues were among the NHL's hottest teams with an 8-1-1 record down the stretch.

Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck has a 3.09 goals-against average along with an .897 save percentage in the first two games of the series. At the other end of the ice, St. Louis rookie goalie Jordan Binnington has a 2.00 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.

Here's a look at the full Stanley Cup playoff bracket and standings in the eight first-round playoff series.

Saturday Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule, Odds (All Times ET)

Games can be live-streamed on NBC Sports Live. Odds via Caesars.

Game 2: Carolina (+145; bet $100 to win $145) at Washington (-160; bet $160 to win $100), 3 p.m., NBC. Predicted score: Washington 5, Carolina 3

Game 2: Dallas (+140) at Nashville (-155), 6 p.m., CNBC. Predicted score: Dallas 3, Nashville 2

Game 2: Toronto (+130) at Boston (-145), 8 p.m., NBC. Predicted score: Boston 6, Toronto 4

Game 2: Colorado (+200) at Calgary (-230), 10:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network. Predicted score: Colorado 3, Calgary 2

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Toronto at Boston

The Maple Leafs suffered a couple of painful playoff defeats at the hands of the Bruins in 2013 and 2018, but they were undaunted in the series opener, racking up a 4-1 victory in Boston.

Toronto's speed caused havoc for the home team, and the Bruins made uncharacteristic coverage mistakes as Maple Leafs forwards Mitch Marner and William Nylander found a way to get behind their defense.

Boston goalie Tuukka Rask looked shaky on Marner's penalty-shot goal in the second period, as well as Nylander's marker later in the period.

The normally physical Bruins appeared to forget about that aspect of their game and were not sharp for the majority of the contest. Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins a brief lead in Game 1 with a power-play goal, but the line of Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak will have to play better if the Bruins are to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole.

The top defensive pairing of Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy will also have to pick up their level of play. Chara was on the ice for 13 Toronto scoring chances, while McAvoy was on for 16, per Matt Porter of the Boston Globe.

Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy said the Bruins were beaten in all areas in Game 1. "You're expecting Game 1 to be on your game," Cassidy said. "We didn't play a smart enough hockey game and paid the price. They probably outplayed us at every position, outcoached us too, obviously."

The Bruins can be expected to play better, but if the Leafs get more from Auston Matthews and John Tavares, they could take a second win on Boston ice. If not, Boston squares the series.

Colorado at Calgary

The top-seeded Flames are widely expected to get the best of the eighth-seeded Avalanche, but Colorado is a dangerous team with the kind of speed that could cause havoc for the favorites.

Calgary took the opening game of the series 4-0, and Colorado head coach Jared Bednar is considering putting Mikko Rantanen back on the top line with forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Rantanen played the first game with Carl Soderberg and Colin Wilson, and neither line was at its best.

"We're thinking about shuffling some things around," Bednar said, per Aaron Vickers of NHL.com. "It's difficult just to assess it in one game, I think, for me, because I didn't like a handful of our forwards. We all know creating offense is a five-man job, never mind a three-man job, and if you've got a guy not at his best on each line, it takes away from the line. We expect some of those guys to be better."

The Avs have the difficult job of solving Calgary goalie Mike Smith, who had 26 saves in his fourth career playoff shutout and displayed his best form.

That was not the case during the regular season, when Smith had a 2.72 goals-against average with an .898 save percentage.

Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals for the Flames in Game 1, and he expressed confidence in Smith. "He's really been turning it on as of late," Tkachuk said, per Dave Stubbs of NHL.com. "I'm really happy where his game is trending right now."

If the Avs can break through early against Smith, they will have a chance to dictate the pace of the game with their speed and skill.