NHL Playoffs 2020: Stanley Cup Title Odds, Latest Schedule and Picks

Facing elimination, the Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks each needed three consecutive wins against their respective opponents to stay in the Stanley Cup playoffs and advance to the conference finals. On Tuesday, they each took the first step to doing so.

The top-seeded Flyers staved off elimination in Game 5 of their second-round series against the No. 6-seeded New York Islanders, pulling out a 4-3 win in overtime. Meanwhile, the No. 5-seeded Canucks notched a 2-1 win to cut the top-seeded Vegas Golden Knights' series lead to 3-2.

The No. 2-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning are the only team that has advanced to the conference finals so far, after they beat the No. 4-seeded Boston Bruins in five games, moving on with a 3-2 double-overtime win in Monday's Game 5.

With the Golden Knights, Islanders and Dallas Stars all a win from advancing (and each of their opponents needing two straight victories to advance), here's a look at the remaining second-round schedule, updated Stanley Cup odds and predictions for this year's conference finals.

Remaining Second-Round Schedule

Wednesday, Sept. 2

Game 6: No. 2 Colorado Avalanche at No. 3 Dallas Stars, 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

Thursday, Sept. 3

Game 6: No. 1 Philadelphia Flyers at No. 6 New York Islanders, 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

Game 6: No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights at No. 5 Vancouver Canucks, 9:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

Friday, Sept. 4

Game 7: No. 5 Vancouver Canucks at No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights (if necessary)

Game 7: No. 3 Dallas Stars at No. 2 Colorado Avalanche (if necessary)

Saturday, Sept. 5

Game 7: No. 6 New York Islanders at No. 1 Philadelphia Flyers (if necessary)

Stanley Cup Odds

Vegas Golden Knights +180 (bet $100 to win $180)

Tampa Bay Lightning +195

New York Islanders +485

Dallas Stars +700

Colorado Avalanche +1100

Philadelphia Flyers +3500

Vancouver Canucks +12500

Odds obtained via Vegas Insider

Conference Finals Predictions

Lightning End Islanders' Incredible Eastern Conference Run

The Islanders' impressive underdog run isn't going to end in the second round. After beating the Florida Panthers in the qualifying round and upsetting the Washington Capitals in the first round, they'll finish off their second-round upset of the Philadelphia Flyers by winning in either Game 6 or 7.

However, New York's next task will be a challenging one, and it won't be one they'll overcome.

The Lightning have been on a mission this postseason after their disappointing showing in 2019. Last year, they became the first No. 1 seed to get swept by a No. 8 seed in the first round, losing in four games to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Not only did they avenge that loss in this year's opening round, but they also then had a dominant showing over the Bruins, who won the Presidents' Trophy for having the most regular-season points.

Tampa Bay is 10-3 this postseason (it also went 2-1 in round-robin seeding play), as it lost only one game in each of its first two best-of-seven series. And despite playing without Steven Stamkos due to injury, the Lightning have been on an offensive surge of late, scoring 17 total goals while winning four straight games to end their series against the Bruins.

Not only that, Tampa Bay gets even better when the pressure is on. It's 5-0 in overtime games this postseason.

"We know what we want," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "We're not taking no for an answer."

The Islanders will likely have trouble scoring against Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had a dominant showing against the Bruins as he allowed only 10 goals and had a .936 save percentage in 10 games. Tampa Bay's defense is also playing well in front of him, and the Russian is stopping shots when he needs to.

Although the Lightning are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the fourth time in six seasons, they've only reached the Stanley Cup Final once during that span (2015), when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

Tampa Bay will finally get back to the Final and perhaps even win it all for the first time since 2004.

Avalanche Come Back to Beat Stars, Lose to Golden Knights

The Golden Knights may have lost Game 5 to the Canucks, but they should bounce back and finish the series in Game 6. However, the Stars may not be as fortunate against the Avalanche, who used a five-goal first period to notch a 6-3 win over Dallas in Monday's Game 5.

Colorado will rally for two more wins to notch a seven-game series victory, then advance to the Western Conference Finals where it will meet Vegas in a matchup of the top two seeds.

When the Golden Knights and Avalanche faced off in round-robin seeding play, Vegas won 4-3 in overtime in a winner-take-all final game to determine the No. 1 seed. That was part of a run in which they won eight of their first nine games this postseason.

Vegas has faced more adversity in the second round, as Vancouver has won Games 2 and 5. And between those two games, the Golden Knights have scored only three total goals, rare lackluster showings for their offense in the playoffs.

Still, Vegas' offense has still shown what it's capable of during the series against Vancouver, scoring five goals in two of its three victories. And if it takes on Colorado in the next round, those would surely be high-scoring contests with both teams having talented offenses.

However, the Golden Knights have been one of the best teams this postseason, and their talent and recent playoff experience should help them reach the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in three seasons. However, expect a long series between Vegas and Colorado, as both teams have had competitive matchups in the second round as well.