NHL Playoff Bracket 2019: Wednesday TV and Live-Stream Schedule

The Stanley Cup playoffs have reached a critical stage for the New York Islanders.

After whipping the Pittsburgh Penguins in four straight games in the opening round, the Islanders dropped a pair of games at home to start their second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Islanders will attempt to turn the series around on the road Wednesday night. 

The St. Louis Blues have a 2-1 lead over the Dallas Stars, and they will attempt to take a 3-1 stranglehold in the series by winning a second consecutive game on the road.

The San Jose Sharks found success on the road Tuesday with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, as Logan Couture scored a hat trick for the victors. The win gave San Jose a 2-1 lead in the series, and it allowed the Sharks to regain home-ice advantage in the series.

The Columbus Blue Jackets gained a 2-1 series lead after beating the Boston Bruins 2-1 in front of their raucous fans at Nationwide Arena.

Boston carried the play in an attempt to tie the score in the third period by outshooting the Jackets 15-7, but goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all of those shots and 36 of 37 in the game to preserve the victory.

Wednesday's NHL Playoff Action

New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN (Series tied, 1-1)

St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars, 10 p.m. ET, NBCSN (Series tied, 1-1)

Games can be streamed live on NBC Sports Live. 

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes appear to have a big edge since they are coming home where their "Storm Surge" originated, but there is some uncertainty because goalie Curtis McElhinney is likely to get his first playoff start due to a lower-body injury suffered by Petr Mrazek.

McElhinney has never started a postseason game during his 11-year career, but he stopped 17 shots in relief of Mrazek in Game 2. Carolina rallied with two goals in the third period to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory.

The Canes are sure to get a rousing welcome from their fans, as they eliminated the Washington Capitals in the seventh game on the road and won the first two games of this series on the road. Their last home game was April 22, when they won Game 6 against the Caps and tied the series.

Head coach Barry Trotz of the Islanders will have to figure out a way for his team to find its offensive game after being limited to one goal in its first two games.

Mathew Barzal has scored the only goal for the Islanders in this series, and that's in stark contrast to their first-round win over Pittsburgh when Jordan Eberle scored four goals, and Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson each added three.

The Hurricanes could get forward Andrei Svechnikov back for this game. Svechnikov got knocked out and sustained a concussion in a fight with Alex Ovechkin in the third game of the first-round series, and he has not played since. 

"Practice was good for him today too, but he didn't commit one way or another," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "It's just, we want to make sure these guys feel comfortable before they go in."

Since the Hurricanes have a 2-0 lead in the series, they may lean to sitting Svechnikov out one more game to make sure he is ready.

St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars

The Blues showed their ability to stay on task during Game 3 in Dallas by scoring tie-breaking goals twice in the third period after the Stars had rallied to tie the score.

St. Louis took a 2-1 lead into the third period of that game, and Dallas appeared to seize momentum when Andrew Cogliano scored the tying goal at the 13-minute, six-second mark. However, shortly after the Stars and their fans celebrated that goal, Alex Pietrangelo ripped home a slap shot over goalie Ben Bishop's shoulder to give the Blues a 3-2 lead.

The scoring continued when Tyler Seguin tied the score at the 15:52 mark on his wrist shot, but just when it seemed the game was destined to go into overtime, Patrick Maroon untied the score with less than two minutes to go by putting a short shot past Bishop.

The Blues' ability to respond on the road is something the franchise has not seen in 50 years. They have won their first four postseason road games this year, something the team has not done since 1969.

Head coach Craig Berube says his team has shown the ability to stay focused on the task at hand even when circumstances go against the team.

"They're not always going to go your way, and you've just got to keep fighting and stay with it," Berube said, per Louie Korac of NHL.com. "Frustration's not a good thing. It's important to stay composed, stay working and keep working."

The ability to bounce back and focus on the results was forged during the second half of the season. After finding themselves with the worst record in the league January 2, the Blues won 30 of their final 45 regular-season games to open eyes around the league.

They have continued to win in the playoffs and can put the Stars on the brink of elimination if they can continue their road success in Game 4 of the series.