CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have played the most games in the NHL the past two seasons and are halfway to repeating as Stanley Cup champions.

Between the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs they've played a whopping 165 games in the past 16 months, and that's not including games played by the 10 Blackhawks who participated in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

That's a lot of hockey, with a lot of high-intensity games and wear and tear on their bodies and minds. Coming off a six-game victory against the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Second Round, there are murmurs that some of Chicago's players are running on fumes heading into the Western Conference Final, which will start Sunday. They'll play the winner of Game 7 on Friday between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings.

The Blackhawks strongly disagree.

"I don't think we're worried about anything right now," said right wing Patrick Kane, who scored the series-clinching overtime goal in Game 6 on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center. "We're in a pretty good position that not a lot of teams get to go through. We're in a conference final and it's going to be a great matchup whoever we face, so there's no real cause for concern and we feel our best game's ahead of us. So it's exciting."

NEW YORK – The National Hockey League today announced that the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Final will begin Sunday, May 18, when the Chicago Blackhawks face off against the winner of the Second Round series between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings.

The starting time for Game 1 on Sunday will be 3 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on NBC in the U.S. and televised in Canada by TSN and RDS.

Based on the number of points each team earned during the regular season, the Ducks would host the Blackhawks in Game 1, while the Blackhawks would host the Kings in Game 1.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League today announced updated start time and television information for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League has announced updated start time information for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round games scheduled for Tuesday, May 13.

The starting time for Game 7 of the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers has been set for 7 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh. In the U.S., the game will be seen on NBCSN. In Canada, the game will be televised on CBC and RDS.

The starting time for Game 6 of the series between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild has been set for 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT in Minnesota. In the U.S., the game will be seen on CNBC. In Canada, the game will be on TSN and RDS2.

The Anaheim Ducks' 2-0 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday assured that all four second-round series in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs will go at least six games.

It's the first time that's happened since 2009 and the fourth time since the NHL began playing four rounds of playoffs in 1974.

The National Hockey League today announced updated start time information for upcoming 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round games:

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League today announced updated start time information for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round games scheduled for Saturday, May 10.

The starting time for Game 5 of the series between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens has been set for 7 p.m. ET in Boston. In the U.S., the game will be televised on NBCSN. In Canada, the game will be televised on CBC and RDS.

The starting time for Game 4 of the series between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings has been set for 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT in Los Angeles. In the U.S., the game will be televised on NBCSN. In Canada, the game will be on TSN and RDS.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League today announced updated start time information for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round games scheduled for Friday, May 9.

The starting time for Game 5 of the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers has been set for 7 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh. In the U.S., the game will be seen on NBCSN. In Canada, the game will be televised on CBC and RDS.

The starting time for Game 4 of the series between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild has been set for 9:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. CT in Minnesota. In the U.S., the game will be seen on NBCSN. In Canada, the game will be on TSN and RDS.

NEW YORK – After two weeks of multi-goal comebacks, last-minute goals and overtimes in an exciting and unpredictable First Round, the race to win the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Can-Am Spyder remains wide open. Of the half-million entries submitted on NHL.com, 72% chose a team that advanced to the Second Round as their Stanley Cup champion.

The opening round concluded with 10 entrants tied for first place, having correctly picked the winning team for all eight First-Round series and the exact number of games for seven of those winners to capture their series. Underscoring the competitive balance that makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs so compelling, fewer than 1% of the more than half-million entries on NHL.com correctly predicted the winning team for all eight First-Round series. None of the brackets had all eight winners and the exact number of games for each series – a proposition with 16.8 million unique combinations.

As crushing as the Colorado Avalanche's Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Wild was in the Western Conference First Round, they have plenty to be excited about moving forward.

In Patrick Roy's first season as Colorado coach, he took a team that had the worst record in the Western Conference last season and transformed it into a first-place group in 2013-14. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon was a revelation, and along with teammate Paul Stastny, a pending free agent, tied for the Stanley Cup Playoffs lead with 10 points. Franchise goaltender Semyon Varlamov is signed for the next five years, and there is a core of bright young talent.

But in a close series that ended with Nino Niederreiter's overtime goal in Game 7, a few glaring issues tipped the balance.

Why were the Avalanche eliminated by the Wild? Here are five reasons: