The conference finals are set for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. In the East, the Boston Bruins will square off against the surprising Carolina Hurricanes, while it will be the San Jose Sharks facing the St. Louis Blues in the West. All the action will begin Thursday with Carolina and Boston opening their Eastern Conference final series at TD Garden at 8:00 p.m. ET. Sportsnet and CBC will have full coverage as the Stanley Cup finalists get decided. Here’s a look at each series’ schedule: Eastern Conference Final Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes Play-by-play: Jim Hughson; Game Analyst: Craig Simpson; Reporter: Kyle Bukauskas Western Conference Final San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues Play-by-play: Dave Randorf; Game Analyst: Garry Galley; Reporter: Scott Oake Also of note, Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition will air on both Saturdays of the Conference final on OMNI starting Saturday, May 11 with Game 1 of the Western Conference final at 5:00 p.m. PT. Additionally, Game 3 of the West final on May 15 will be joined in progress on CBC for viewers in Newfoundland due to a provincial election.<doc-sep>Is this an Eastern Conference finals matchup that most people saw? Definitely not, but here we are. What can you say about the Carolina Hurricanes other than they have fully embraced the "Bunch of Jerks" moniker? They went from the last team to advance to the second round to the first team to solidify a spot in the conference finals. They easily swept the New York Islanders out of the Stanley Cup playoffs and will have had a week off by the time the puck drops on this series. SN STAFF PREDICTIONS: Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Stanley Cup In comparison, the Bruins are coming off a hard-fought, six-game series against the Columbus Blue Jackets that wrapped up Monday. The series was the second one of the postseason where Boston had to come back from a 2-1 deficit. Against Columbus, they eventually rattled off three straight wins including a convincing 3-0 victory in Game 6 to close out the series. The Bruins are in the East finals for the first time since 2013, when they went on to lose in the Stanley Cup Final. Carolina has advanced at least this far in each of its last four playoff appearances. Boston Bruins (-150) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (+130): Schedule, breakdown, prediction Date Matchup Time (TV channel) May 9 Game 1 at Boston 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA) May 12 Game 2 at Boston 3 p.m. ET (NBC, CBC, SN, TVA) May 14 Game 3 at Carolina 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA) May 16 Game 4 at Carolina 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA) *May 18 Game 5 at Boston 7:15 p.m. ET (NBC, CBC, SN, TVA) *May 20 Game 6 at Carolina 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN1, TVA) *May 22 Game 7 at Boston 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC, SN360, TVA) (*if necessary) Season series The Bruins won the season series 2-1 but each game was close. Boston's No. 1 goaltender, Tuukka Rask, started the Bruins' lone loss, allowing five goals on 37 shots. On the flip side, Carolina netminder Petr Mrazek, who appears to be healthy enough to return from an injury, started in the win (three goals allowed on 30 shots). Mrazek's backup and recent fill-in, Curtis McElhinney, allowed four goals on 38 shots in an overtime loss. Sebastian Aho led all scorers with four goals — one short-handed — and added two assists while teammate Teuvo Teravainen chipped in four points (two goals, two assists). Brad Marchand paced the Bruins with two goals and three assists, including the game-winning goal in the first matchup of the season. DATE ROAD HOME RESULT Oct. 30 Bruins Hurricanes BOS, 3-2 Dec. 23 Bruins Hurricanes CAR, 5-3 Mar. 5 Hurricanes Bruins BOS, 4-3 (OT) Offense Carolina: The Hurricanes roll four lines and can score up and down the roster. Youngsters Teuvo Teravainen (four goals) and Sebastian Aho (three goals) and veterans Justin Williams (two goals) and Jordan Staal (two goals) led the way in the second round. Staal netted the game-winning overtime goal in Game 1 that set the Hurricanes down the path toward a sweep. Carolina has also gotten big point production from the defense corps, led by Jaccob Slavin's 11 assists. That helps explain how the Hurricanes have 3.09 GF/GP when they were at 2.96 during the regular season. They also have 26 goals when skating 5-on-5, which leads all postseason teams. Carolina's offense got back Andrei Svechnikov late in the second round and should get back Micheal Ferland in this round. Ferland had one of the best seasons of his career in 2018-19. Boston: David Pastrnak has had an up-and-down postseason, but the 2019 NHL All-Star did net four goals in the second round, including the game-winning goal late in Game 5. He has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 12 career games against Carolina. Boston will need him, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand to increase their production. The line has not matched its regular-season level of output, but it has shown its ability in spurts. The unit will need to be more consistent. The rest of Boston's forwards will need to continue chipping in goals, because the Hurricanes have shown they can shut down some of the top players in the game. David Krejci and trade deadline acquisition Charlie Coyle have stepped up their games. Edge: Boston. Defense Carolina: Among the teams remaining, Carolina has allowed the fewest goals against (25) with an impressive 2.27 GA/GP (second-best). That's not a surprise, considering the Hurricanes have allowed the second-fewest shots against per game in the playoffs (27.8). They'll face a solid test in this series as the Bruins have the third-best GF/GP (3.08) and will pepper their netminders (35.7 shots/GP) with an attack that has produced the most shot attempts for (620). Slavin has been a star in the postseason and a workhorse along the blue line (26:36 TOI). His partner, Dougie Hamilton, will have something to prove to the team that traded him 2015. Those two will need to step up their games; they are minus-3 and minus-5, respectively, against Boston in their careers. Boston: Compared to Carolina, the Bruins are not far off their GA number (28) and are first in GA/GP (2.15). They'll be without Charlie McAvoy for Game 1, however; the NHL suspended him for a headshot on Columbus' Josh Anderson. McAvoy was one of the best defensemen in the second round and made a brilliant save in Game 5 — one of his 26 blocks in the playoffs. His partner, captain Zdeno Chara, is no slouch, though. The 6-9 Chara leads all playoff performers this year with a plus-9. He also holds an impressive plus-20 in 69 career games against Carolina to go with 28 points. Edge: Even. (Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/f1/d9/tuukka-rask-boston-bruins-042519-getty-ftrjpeg_jil93u1zmgq11rzbcr5o2yojl.jpg?t=1432633210&w=500&quality=80 Goaltending Carolina: Who will start for the Hurricanes is still to be determined, but considering how Mrazek and McElhinney performed through the first two rounds, it probably doesn't matter. Mrazek, 27, went 5-3 with a 2.22 GAA and a .913 save percentage before getting hurt in Game 2 of the Islanders series. McElhinney, who will turn 36 on May 23, stepped in and went 3-0 with a 1.56 GAA and a .947 save percentage. In seven career games vs. Boston, McElhinney is 3-2-1 with a 2.21 GAA and a .934 save percentage. His numbers far exceed those of Mrazek, who is 4-2-1 in nine games with a 3.09 GAA and an .888 save percentage. Mrazek was Carolina's No. 1 netminder this season, however, and is expected to be back between the pipes if healthy. Boston: Tuukka Rask is 8-5 in this year's postseason with a 2.02 GAA, a .938 save percentage and a shutout; after the series against the Blue Jackets, his GAA dropped to 1.71 and his save percentage rose to .948. As coach Bruce Cassidy said after Rask's shutout in the clinching Game 6 victory, "I think he was our best player tonight. I thought we had a lot of guys play well, but he was our best player." Rask is 9-4-3 with a 2.27 GAA and a .928 save percentage in 17 games liftetime against Carolina, Edge: Boston. Mrazek's status remains uncertain and Rask has been phenomenal. Special teams The Hurricanes' power play has been atrocious in the postseason at just 10.5 percent effectiveness — and 4.8 percent on the road. In comparison, the Bruins are tops in the playoffs at 28.6 percent — and an unheard-of 43.8 percent on the road. With Carolina only 75 percent effective on the penalty kill, it must stay out of the box if it wants to have any chance of winning the series. Edge: Boston. (Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/5f/3d/justin-williams-carolina-hurricanes-new-york-islanders-050119-getty-ftrjpeg_qfj209rqpea71h2jfp8d5xowk.jpg?t=1984645018&w=500&quality=80 Key players to watch Dougie Hamilton, D, Hurricanes. He still isn't sure why the Bruins traded him, but he'll definitely try to show them why they shouldn't have. He has had a solid postseason and is a veteran leader for this young team. Zdeno Chara, D, Bruins. Chara has looked slow at times, but he knows when to pick his spots and is one of the best at positioning.<doc-sep>The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs continue and you can watch the action live on CBC TV or live streamed through CBCSports.ca and the CBC Sports app. CBC will be the home for every second-round game of the series between the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. The full broadcast schedule for the second round of the NHL playoffs, and where you can watch each game, is below: Eastern Conference semifinals Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Boston Bruins (Bruins win series 4-2) Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders (Hurricanes win series 4-0) Western Conference semifinals Colorado Avalanche vs. San Jose Sharks (Sharks win series 4-3) Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues (Blues win series 4-3) Eastern Conference quarter-finals Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (Bruins win series 4-3) New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (Islanders win series 4-0) Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Hurricanes win series 4-3) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (Blue Jackets win series 4-0) Western Conference quarter-finals Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche (Avalanche win series 4-1) Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues (Blues win series 4-2) Nashville Predators vs. Dallas Stars (Stars win series 4-2) San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights (Sharks win series 4-3)<doc-sep>
Patrick Johnston: 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs a reminder that 'sneaking in' is more than it seems Canucks GM Jim Benning: "If you make the playoffs, you have a chance." Article content The wave of upsets in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs may be old news now, but for Canucks general manager Jim Benning there are still a pair of notable lessons. “I see two things, first, parity in the league. It’s shown it’s so close. If you make the playoffs, you have a chance,” Benning said. “And two, all the teams that made it, their defence is mobile. We have work to do.” We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Patrick Johnston: 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs a reminder that 'sneaking in' is more than it seems Back to video Point two is one that outside observers have been making for a while and Benning himself has said more than once in recent weeks. The first lesson is the important one to unpack. While it could be said that this is the NHL’s dream — that anyone can beat anyone else on any given night — this is a nuanced lesson that harkens back to the eighth-seed Los Angeles Kings of 2012. Yes, those Kings that beat the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Canucks in five games. The Kings that year were already considered by some to be the best eighth-seeded team in history, one that in another season likely would have finished higher up the ladder. Their upset of the Canucks, launching a playoff campaign that ended up in a Stanley Cup victory, was a surprise to some, but probably shouldn’t have been. Fast-forward back to the present day and we find that the four conference finalists, including the very surprising Carolina Hurricanes (fourth-best) and St. Louis Blues (second-best), were in the top seven teams in the NHL for post-Jan. 1 points percentage.