NHL Playoff Bracket 2019: TV Schedule, Live Stream Guide for Sunday Matchups

Four first-round NHL playoff matchups are set to take place Sunday. And in three of those series, a team has a 2-0 lead, making these games critical for the teams facing the deficits.

These Game 3 contests should go a long way in determining how the rest of the series may go. It's nearly impossible to overcome an 3-0 deficit, while a 2-1 deficit would have a team back in a competitive series.

There is one afternoon matchup and three night games on Sunday, so prepare for another full slate of exciting postseason hockey.

Saturday NHL Playoffs Schedule

Game 3: N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh, 12 p.m., NBC

Game 3: Tampa Bay at Columbus, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Network

Game 3: Winnipeg at St. Louis, 7:30 p.m., CNBC

Game 3: San Jose at Vegas, 10 p.m., NBC Sports Network

All Times ET. Games can be live-streamed on NBC Sports Live.

Saturday Preview

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

For the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sunday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets is a must-win.

After a dominant regular season and having entered the playoffs as the clear favorite to win the Stanley Cup, the Lighting surprisingly lost the first two games of their series against the Blue Jackets, both at home. Now they go to Columbus for Games 3 and 4 needing a win to save their season.

To make matters worse for Tampa Bay, star forward Nikita Kucherov, the NHL's regular-season points leader, is suspended for Game 3 after an illegal hit he delivered in Game 2.

"Have we faced a ton of adversity this year? We haven't," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "So now we have some adversity, and teams face it all the time and they face it in little pieces, and this is a five-alarm fire. All of the sudden, you're down 0-2 at home and alarms are going off."

Like the Lightning, the Winnipeg Jets are also facing adversity heading into Game 3. The Jets dropped the first two games of their series against the St. Louis Blues at home, and the series moves to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4.

If the Blue Jackets and Blues notch Game 3 victories, they will be in great spots. There have only been four teams in NHL playoff history to overcome 3-0 deficits. The most recent team to do it was the Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2014 playoffs—and they went on the hoist the Stanley Cup

The Pittsburgh Penguins also face a 2-0 deficit heading into their Game 3 matchup against the New York Islanders, but the series is moving to Pittsburgh for Games 3 and 4, meaning there are still solid opportunities for the Penguins to get back in the series.

"They won two games," Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin said, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "Why can't we win two games? It's not easy, but we need to stay together. We have a great team. I believe in this group. I believe we can change [the momentum]. Win one game, [and] we'll see what's going on."

Sunday's final matchup features the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights, who are tied 1-1 after the first two games of the series in San Jose.

It's not surprising that this series has been close, and it should stay that way, going to either six or seven games. After the Golden Knights notched a Game 2 win on the road, they will be looking to carry over the momentum to their home ice.