NHL Playoffs 2020: TV Schedule, Live-Stream Info, Odds for Friday's Round 1

The Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues haven't gotten off to the best start this postseason. After going 0-3 in their round-robin games to fall to the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, they lost Game 1 of their first-round series to the No. 5-seeded Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

Vancouver notched a 5-2 victory in Game 1, using three third-period goals to secure the win. However, there's still time for the Blues to bounce back, and they have a chance to even the series Friday.

That matchup will be one of five Stanley Cup playoff games taking place Friday. All of those contests will be Game 2 matchups, except for the final matchup of the day, a Game 3 between the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames.

Here's a look at Friday's schedule (along with odds), followed by several key storylines.

Friday Schedule, Odds

Game 2: No. 7 Arizona Coyotes (+175; bet $100 to win $175) at No. 2 Colorado Avalanche (-200; bet $200 to win $100), 2 p.m. ET, NHL Network

Game 2: No. 8 Montreal Canadiens (+130) at No. 1 Philadelphia Flyers (-145), 3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

Game 2: No. 5 Vancouver Canucks (+130) at No. 4 St. Louis Blues (-145), 6:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network

Game 2: No. 6 New York Islanders (+110) at No. 3 Washington Capitals (-125), 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

Game 3: No. 3 Dallas Stars at No. 6 Calgary Flames (no line), 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

Odds from Caesars Palace. Games can be streamed live at NBC Sports Live.

Can Capitals Respond After Game 1 Collapse?

The Washington Capitals couldn't have gotten off to a better start against former coach Barry Trotz's New York Islanders during Game 1 on Wednesday. Washington peppered New York goaltender Semyon Varlamov's goal, and T.J. Oshie scored a pair of power-play tallies to give the Caps a two-goal lead about halfway through the second period.

Thereafter, however, the Islanders put up four unanswered goals, including Josh Bailey's short-hander that made it 3-2 early in the third period. On Friday, New York will look to build a 2-0 series lead to move a win closer to an upset over the No. 3-seeded Washington.

If the Capitals are going to even the series, they will have to do so without center Nicklas Backstrom, who is in concussion protocol after getting injured on a hit by Islanders captain Anders Lee in the first period of Game 1.

"His body of work as a player speaks for itself," Caps coach Todd Reirden said, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "But that's next man up. Who's going to take advantage of that opportunity? That's playoff hockey."

The Capitals haven't won a playoff series since Trotz led them to the Stanley Cup in 2018 and lost in the first round to the Hurricanes last year in their first season under Reirden.

Will Canadiens or Coyotes Bounce Back Against Top Teams?

Although the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes had upset wins in the qualifying round against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, respectively, neither could carry over that momentum into the opening games of their first-round series. Montreal fell 2-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers, while Arizona lost 3-0 to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canadiens had 28 shots in Game 1 against the Flyers, but Philadelphia goaltender Carter Hart had 27 saves and kept them off the board for the final 25 minutes and change. Montreal will be looking to generate more offense in Game 2.

The Coyotes need to do the same after getting shut out by the Avalanche in Game 1 of their series. Not only could Arizona not score, but it was outshot by Colorado 40-14. Despite that, the game was scoreless until the third period, when the Avalanche scored three goals in a 1:23 span in the final seven minutes.

There's still time for the Canadiens and Coyotes to get back into these series, but it will be much tougher to do so if they fall into 0-2 holes Friday.

Stars Look to Carry Over Momentum from Thursday

After playing Game 2 of their series Thursday night, the Stars and Flames will be right back on the ice Friday.

The Stars hadn't scored more than two goals in a game since their first round-robin seeding matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, but that changed Thursday, when they beat the Flames 5-4 to even the first-round series at 1-1.

Calgary scored twice in the third period to tie the game, but Jamie Oleksiak's goal lifted Dallas to victory with 40 seconds remaining. It was a much-needed showing for the Stars after they lost Game 1.

The quick turnaround will also give Calgary a chance to turn the page after its comeback attempt was thwarted in Game 2. No matter how Game 3 goes, this is likely to be a competitive series between the Nos. 3 and 6 seeds in the Western Conference.