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NHL Playoff Bracket 2020: Game Times, TV Schedule and Monday Live Stream Guide
August 17, 2020
Finally, the St. Louis Blues have their first win of the 2019-20 NHL postseason. Less than 24 hours later, they have the chance to level their first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks and put their slow start behind them.
After losing all three of its round-robin seeding games and its first two contests against Vancouver, St. Louis notched a 3-2 overtime win in Sunday night's Game 3, cutting the Canucks' series lead to 2-1. There's no time for either team to dwell on the result, with Game 4 set to take place Monday night.
That matchup will cap what should be another exciting day of Stanley Cup playoff action, with four Game 4 contests set to take place. And none of them have the potential for an elimination, showing the competitiveness in most of this year's opening-round series.
Here's a look at Monday's full slate.
Monday Schedule
Game 4: No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning at No. 7 Columbus Blue Jackets, 3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
Game 4: No. 2 Colorado Avalanche at No. 7 Arizona Coyotes, 5:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
Game 4: No. 4 Boston Bruins at No. 5 Carolina Hurricanes, 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
Game 4: No. 4 St. Louis Blues at No. 5 Vancouver Canucks, 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
Games can be streamed live at NBC Sports Live.
Will Blue Jackets Respond Again to Tie It Up?
After suffering a tough, five-overtime loss in Game 1, the Columbus Blue Jackets bounced back with a win in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, Tampa Bay took back control in Game 3 with a 3-2 victory. Whether Columbus can respond could be a large factor in determining this series' outcome.
The Lightning, who were swept by the Blue Jackets in last year's first round, have proved they have the mettle to overcome those demons, even with captain Steven Stamkos still out with a lower-body injury. But they do have the Norris Trophy-nominated Victor Hedman back from injury, and in Game 3, he scored his first goal of the postseason and helped Tampa Bay's defense limit Columbus to 17 shots.
Since Aug. 2, the Blue Jackets have played eight postseason games. They went a full five games in their qualifying-round series matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with two going to overtime, and they had the five-OT game to open their series against the Lightning. But Columbus' players aren't using that as an excuse for its Game 3 setback.
"We're professional athletes, and we have to find a way to be the best we can be every time we hit the ice," Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones said, according to NHL.com's Sean Farrell.
If Columbus goes down 3-1, it will be a tough deficit to overcome. But this series has been competitive, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Blue Jackets level it up Monday.
Can Coyotes Win Again to Keep It a Series?
At first, the Arizona Coyotes couldn't carry over the momentum from their upset qualifying-round series win over the Nashville Predators. They dropped their first two games against the Colorado Avalanche in the opening round, but Arizona fared better in Game 3, holding on for a 4-2 victory to cut Colorado's lead to 2-1.
Darcy Kuemper has been terrific in the goal for the Coyotes all series, but they have struggled offensively. In their 3-0 loss in Game 1, they had only 14 shots on goal. And even in their Game 3 victory, they were outshot 51-23, with two of their four goals empty-netters.
But if Kuemper continues to play at such a high level, Arizona might be able to keep it a competitive series, even with its offensive woes.
"You can put him there with the best of the best," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said of his netminder, according to Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic. "He's an unflappable guy, a leader in his own right. He's just a guy who people enjoy playing for, and it's easy for me to play him because he's such a good goalie."
Arizona's other players will need to continue to give Kuemper some help, but if they do, perhaps the Coyotes, who started as the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference, can make things interesting and continue their surprising postseason run.
Without Rask, Bruins Look to Win Again
If the Boston Bruins are going to go on to win the Stanley Cup, they will have to do so without goaltender Tuukka Rask, who opted out of the playoffs after the first two games of Boston's opening-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. Jaroslav Halak will be in the goal for the Bruins moving forward.
Things still went well for Boston in Game 3, as Halak had 29 saves and led the Bruins to a 3-1 win, helping them take a 2-1 series lead. In his 14-year NHL career, Halak has played 32 postseason games, so he's no stranger to the higher stakes of the postseason.
"Jaro is a pro, and I think over the past two years we've been a hockey club that's relied on everybody, and Jaro's been a big part of that," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said, according to NHL.com. "... Jaro is mentally and physically ready to step in and assume the role and, obviously, we hope that he rises to that challenge."
Halak could help Boston take a commanding 3-1 series lead with another strong showing in Monday's Game 4. However, Carolina has been much more competitive than when it was swept by the Bruins in last year's Eastern Conference Final, so the Hurricanes could be poised to tie the series at 2-2.