With every team getting at least one game of playoff six teams will going head to head tonight to take Game One. With four teams in the West and two from the East, each team will be vying to be one game closer to the next round.
Ottawa Senators vs. Boston Bruins: 3:00 PM EDT / 12:00 PM PDT
With the Bruins taking the lead in the dying minutes on Wednesday night, the Senators now sit in a 1-0 hole in their best-of-seven series, and will be desperate to get a win this afternoon.
The Game Two story is all about defence. The Bruins will be forced to go with a blue line quite a bit younger and experienced than they would like to, as injuries to some regulars have shaken up the defence corps. For the Senators, they may be getting a major boost, as Marc Methot has recovered from a gruesome finger injury and may be ready to go tomorrow. If those scenarios come to fruition, you have to give the advantage to the home side to even the series.
How to watch: Sportsnet, Sportsnet Now, TVA Sports, NBC, NHL.tv/GameCentre Live
Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
The Presidents Trophy-winning Washington Capitals will be taking on the young, upstart Toronto Maple Leafs for the second time. Though Alex Ovechkin’s squad have home-ice advantage and have bested the Leafs in the first meeting, can Auston Matthews and his team wrench that advantage away? Or will the Capitals playoff experience and Braden Holtby be enough to put a damper on Toronto’s late-season momentum with a 2-0 series lead?
How to watch: CBC, CBC Sports, TVA Sports, NBCSN, CSN-DC, NHL.tv/GameCentre Live
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators: 8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT
The post-season is a familiar place for the Hawks faithful at the United Centre, and they are welcoming a familiar foe in the first round. Unlike the Blackhawks, the Predators are still looking to find playoff success, having never made it past the second round. But a 1-0 series lead has Nashville off on the right foot, and having already stolen home-ice advantage, they can get a major edge in the series with a win tonight.
How to watch: Sportsnet, Sportsnet Now, TVA Sports 2, NBC, NHL.tv/GameCentre Live
Anaheim Ducks vs. Calgary Flames: 10:30 PM EDT / 7:30 PM PDT
The Anaheim Ducks have welcomed the Calgary Flames to the Honda Center, but the Calgary Flames have had little luck beating the hosts, and Game One was no exception. Meanwhile, the Flames will be looking to exact revenge for the playoff loss handed to them by the Ducks the last time the two teams met in the post-season.
Will the Ducks, reunited with former Cup-winning coach Randy Carlyle, put their Game Seven miseries behind them to trounce the Flames? Or will Calgary’s youth core, with a reliable Brian Elliot in net, pull of a surprise first-round elimination?
How to watch: CBC, CBC Sports, TVA Sports, NBCSN, FS-W, NHL.tv/GameCentre Live
