Whew. On to the second round. After the dismissal of the President's Trophy winner and two razor-close Game 7 showdowns in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins are the new owners of home ice advantage throughout the playoffs--as long they are in contention for hockey's coveted Stanley Cup. Boston will open up at home against Carolina Friday (7:30 p.m. ET) after the Hurricanes scored two goals in the last 80 seconds of Game 7 in New Jersey Tuesday night.
The other Eastern matchup will feature Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins traveling to visit Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, who pulled out their own 2-1 Game 7 heart-stopper Tuesday. That series begins Saturday afternoon in D.C. (1 p.m. ET)
The matchups in the Western Conference were set Monday night after the No. 8 Anaheim Ducks closed out intrastate rival and top seed San Jose in six, and Chicago's young Blackhawks did the same six-and-out number on the Flames at the Saddledome. Anaheim travels to Detroit to open its second-round series Friday (7:30 p.m. ET) in a battle of the last two Stanley Cup championship teams, while Chicago travels to Vancouver to open its conference semifinal series in the second round's opening game Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET.
Here is the complete schedule for the Eastern and Western conference semifinals:
| SERIES I |
|
NETWORK | |||||
| Friday, May 1 | at Boston, 7:30 p.m. | VERSUS (JIP), TSN | |||||
| Sunday, May 3 | at Boston, 7:30 p.m. | VERSUS, TSN | |||||
| Wednesday, May 6 | at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. | VERSUS (JIP), TSN | |||||
| Friday, May 8 | at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. | VERSUS (JIP), TSN | |||||
| *Sunday, May 10 | at Boston, 7:30 p.m. | VERSUS, TSN | |||||
| *Tuesday, May 12 | at Carolina, 7:00 p.m. | VERSUS, TSN | |||||
| *Thursday, May 14 | at Boston, TBD | TSN | |||||
| SERIES J |
|
NETWORK | |||||
| Saturday, May 2 | at Washington, 1:00 p.m. | NBC, CBC, RDS | |||||
| Monday, May 4 | at Washington, 7:00 p.m. | VERSUS, CBC, RDS | |||||
| Wednesday, May 6 | at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. | VERSUS, CBC, RDS | |||||
| Friday, May 8 | at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. | VERSUS, CBC, RDS | |||||
| *Saturday, May 9 | at Washington, 7:00 p.m. | VERSUS, CBC, RDS | |||||
| *Monday, May 11 | at Pittsburgh, TBD | VERSUS, TSN, RDS | |||||
| *Wednesday, May 13 | at Washington, 7:00 p.m. | VERSUS, CBC, RDS | |||||
| SERIES K |
|
NETWORK | |||||
| Friday, May 1 | at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. | VERSUS, CBC | |||||
| Sunday, May 3 | at Detroit, 2:00 p.m. | NBC, TSN | |||||
| Tuesday, May 5 | at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. | VERSUS, TSN | |||||
| Thursday, May 7 | at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. | VERSUS, TSN | |||||
| *Sunday, May 10 | at Detroit, 5:00 p.m. | TSN | |||||
| *Tuesday, May 12 | at Anaheim, TBD | VERSUS, TSN | |||||
| *Thursday, May 14 | at Detroit, TBD | VERSUS, TSN | |||||
| SERIES L |
|
NETWORK | |||||
| Thursday, April 30 | at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | |||||
| Saturday, May 2 | at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | |||||
| Tuesday, May 5 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | |||||
| Thursday, May 7 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS | |||||
| *Saturday, May 9 | at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m | CBC, VERSUS | |||||
| *Monday, May 11 | at Chicago, 9:00 p.m. | CBC, VERSUS (JIP) | |||||
| *Thursday, May 14 | at Vancouver, TBD | CBC, VERSUS |
* - if necessary
