NHL playoff schedule 2013: Fight for Stanley Cup begins Tuesday

Anaheim finished the regular season with the second most points in the Western Conference, while Detroit battled their way into the conference’s seventh seed. During the season series, the Red Wings won two of three meetings and outscored the Ducks, 9-7. In addition, the Red Wings converted on 27.2 percent of their power plays, while killing off 88.8 percent of their penalties.

1. How will Bruce Boudreau manage his goaltenders?

Entering the playoffs on a three-game winning streak, St. Louis compiled a 7-3-0 record in their final 10 games of the regular season to capture home-ice advantage in the first round. Coming off a series sweep in the Western Conference Semifinals last year and a season sweep this year, the red-hot Blues will attempt to seek redemption against the Kings.

1. Will the Blues manage to hold the Kings to less than four goals?

Chicago enters the playoffs as one of the heavy favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Coming off a dominating regular season, which included an extended points streak and a Presidents’ Trophy, the Blackhawks will attempt to win their second championship in four seasons.

1. Will players be given increased ice-time due to the scheduling between Games 1 and 2? Specifically, the teams’ top defensemen?

The 2013 NHL playoffs are scheduled to begin on Tuesday night with three Western Conference match-ups.

In the eyes of many, the West is considered to be a more difficult grouping than its Eastern Conference counterpart. Whether that is the case remains to be seen.

San Jose has had their share of fanfare over the years as a serious contender in the West. After a red-hot start to the season, the team abruptly hit a dry spell, which appeared as though it could find the team battling for a lottery pick instead of a playoff spot. However, the Sharks rebounded and will attempt to delay the Canucks’ championship hopes for another season.

Here’s the full series schedule:

St. Louis used a late-season surge to earn the No. 4 seed and will begin the first-round on a three-game winning streak. The Blues allowed the second fewest goals against of any team in the West and could ride their defensive style to victory over the defending champs. Last season, these two teams met in the semifinal round with Los Angeles completing a four-game sweep. This season, St. Louis will look to turn the tables.

Here’s the series schedule:

On Tuesday night, the team will attempt to build on that progress in Chicago.

Here’s the series schedule:

Just like 2012, the Pittsburgh Penguins open the Stanley Cup playoffs as favorites to win the NHL championship.

Unlike 2012, the Penguins do not expect to be upset in the first round.

Welcome to my last day off for the next two months, also known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Before I deliver you the day-by-day TV schedule, some notes:

* NBC will only air one weekend worth of coverage during the Conference Quarterfinals, as they’ll be airing The Players Championship of golf on May 11-12. They’ll air a game this Saturday afternoon (NY Rangers vs. Washington, Game 2) and a doubleheader of Game 3s this Sunday (Pittsburgh vs. NY Islanders early, Chicago vs. Minnesota late).

Here’s the series schedule:

For the Leafs side of things, stick with Pension Plan Puppets, and for the Boston perspective, head over to Stanley Cup of Chowder.

It’ll be a bit of a wait, but the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens will surely take the time off to prepare for their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. It begins Thursday, May 2 at Bell Centre in Montreal and continues with Game 2 scheduled for Friday evening, May 3.

That’s just one set of back-to-backs scheduled in the best-of-seven duel. Should the series between the Northeast Division champion Habs and the No. 7-seeded Sens run its full course of seven games, they’ll play another pair of back-to-backs on Saturday, May 11 for Game 6 and Sunday, May 12 for Game 7. Of course, Game 6 would be in Ottawa and Game 7 in Montreal, so the travel adds another wrinkle to what would by then be a thrilling series finale.

The No. 1-seeded Penguins, certainly favorites to come out of the East, will host on the No. 8-seeded Islanders, who are in the postseason for the first time since 2007, in the best-of-seven series beginning Wed., May 1.

Here’s the series schedule:

The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin on Tuesday, April 30 with three Western Conference quarterfinal series kicking off the two month-long fight for NHL supremacy.

The St. Louis Blues will host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday evening in a rematch of 2012’s semifinal series between the teams. The Detroit Red Wings will travel to face the Anaheim Ducks as well Tuesday, and the President’s Trophy-winning Chicago Blackhawks will host the Minnesota Wild.

Thanks to the Ottawa Senators 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday night in the NHL’s season finale, all eight matchups in the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs are set. The Montreal Canadiens are the Northeast Division champions and have the Sens to thank for that. They’ll be able to do it personally.

The Sens win ruined a lot of narratives in the East -- namely, a Leafs vs. Habs first round meeting and the hatred between the Penguins and Senators taking another step. But their win still leaves us with Kessel Bowl 2013 between the Leafs and Bruins, an all-Canada battle in Ottawa vs. Montreal and an all-Atlantic meeting between the Islanders and Pens.

After dominating the first half of the game and moving out to a 2-0 lead, the Senators gave up two goals in around 20 seconds of playing time at the very end of the second and beginning of the third periods, and the score was tied at two.

The contest stayed tied until late in the third, when Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau gave the Senators the lead with about three minutes to go, scoring on the rebound of a Marc Methot shot. Ottawa would add an empty-net goal, and the Senators downed the Bruins by a final score of 4-2.

We probably don’t know as much as we thought we would know by the end of Saturday night’s NHL action. More than half of the first round playoff series isn’t bad, however. Plus, it puts some weight into the only game of Sunday night, Bruins vs. Senators.

Detroit and Minnesota both won and made the playoffs. Detroit -- the No. 7 seed -- will take on Anaheim in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, while Minnesota -- the No. 8 -- has the unenviable task of having to try and take down the Chicago Blackhawks. The St. Louis Blues won against a B-version the Hawks, so they get to host a post-season series. They will take on the Los Angeles Kings, who beat the San Jose Sharks to earn the right to visit the Gateway City. San Jose, meanwhile, will travel to Vancouver to take on the Canucks in round one.

Saturday night was supposed to be the final night of the NHL’s regular season, but with postponement forcing the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators into a Sunday season finale at TD Garden, the Eastern Conference playoff picture will have to wait another day.

The Bruins currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference after their shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on a Saturday and the Montreal Canadiens’ win over the Maple Leafs, but Boston’s still in complete control of their own destiny heading into their final game.