Second Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs Begins Tonight

It has been three days since Round 1 wrapped up and if your team is still alive, today couldn’t have come faster. The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tonight and are sure to bring just as much excitement as the first. Before looking into the second round match-ups, here is a overview of Round 1:

Pittsburgh Penguins v. Columbus Blue Jackets: PIT won series 4-1

Washington Capitals v. Toronto Maple Leafs: WAS won series 4-2

Montreal Canadiens v. New York Rangers: NYR won series 4-2

Boston Bruins v. Ottawa Senators: OTT won series 4-2

Chicago Blackhawks v. Nashville Predators: NSH won series 4-0

Minnesota Wild v. St. Louis Blues: STL won series 4-1

Anaheim Ducks v. Calgary Flames: ANA won series 4-0

Edmonton Oilers v. San Jose Sharks: EDM won series 4-2

Tonight’s second round coverage will feature the the Predators heading to St. Louis to take on the Blues. Nashville hasn’t played a game since last Thursday after sweeping the high-powered Blackhawks out of contention. This series (like most in the playoffs) will be a battle between goaltenders. St. Louis’ Jake Allen was stellar during the regular season with a .938 save percentage. Quite impressive until realizing Nashville’s Pekke Rinne had the best save percentage out of all playoff starters at .978. Playoff hockey games are won off the play of goaltenders so look for Allen and Rinne to steal the show.

NSH v. STL: Wednesday 8:00PM ET, NBCSports

The following game will showcase Connor McDavid’s Oilers taking on Ryan Kesler’s Ducks. Anaheim swept the Flames out in the first round and proved the dominance that comes with having a topflight shutdown line. Kesler has positioned himself as a Selke Trophy finalist after an impressive season for the defenseman. Anaheim holds home-ice advantage in this series but they will have to rely on much more in order to take down the league-leading scorer in Connor McDavid. The Edmonton captain racked up 100 points over the course of the season and reinvented the image of Oiler hockey. McDavid and Kesler may well just cancel each other out which will force the teams to rely on the power-play.

EDM v. ANA: Wednesday 10:30PM, NBCSports

Tomorrow night will feature the New York Rangers facing off with the Ottawa Senators, puck drops at 7PM. The Pittsburgh Penguins will then take on the Washington Capitals, in which the winner is highly projected to end up Stanley Cup champions. This game is slated to begin at 7:30PM.