Ben Margot/Associated Press For hockey fans who were worried that the conference finals round of the NHL playoffs may not be competitive, the St. Louis Blues have quelled that concern. On Monday night, the Blues bounced back with a 4-2 win to even the Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks at 1-1. St. Louis improved to 6-2 on the road this postseason and has a chance to take control of this series at home in Games 3 and 4. The Eastern Conference finals resume Tuesday as the Carolina Hurricanes look to avoid falling behind 3-0 to the Boston Bruins. Conference Finals Schedule *If necessary. All times ET. Tuesday, May 14 Video Play Button Videos you might like Game 3: Boston at Carolina, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network Wednesday, May 15 Game 3: San Jose at St. Louis, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network Thursday, May 16 Game 4: Boston at Carolina, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network Friday, May 17 Game 4: San Jose at St. Louis, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network Saturday, May 18 Game 5: Carolina at Boston, 7:15 p.m., NBC* Sunday, May 19 Game 5: St. Louis at San Jose, 3 p.m., NBC Monday, May 20 Game 6: Boston at Carolina, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network* Tuesday, May 21 Game 6: San Jose at St. Louis, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network* Wednesday, May 22 Game 7: Carolina at Boston, 8 p.m., NBC Sports Network* Thursday, May 23 Game 7: St. Louis at San Jose, 9 p.m., NBC Sports Network* Game 3 Predictions Carolina over Boston Adam Glanzman/Getty Images The Hurricanes had a strong start to the playoffs, but not so much in the Eastern Conference finals. The Bruins have scored 11 goals over two home wins to open the series against Carolina. "It looked like we were really tired," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "We have only played two games in 10 days, but I think the mental fatigue got to us. There's been a real strong push by our guys for about four months and it just felt like we didn't have that extra gear you need at this time of year." What can help Carolina reach that? A return to its home ice, where it is 5-0 this postseason, with three wins against the Washington Capitals and two over the New York Islanders. It's going to be tough for the Hurricanes to win this series, especially if the Bruins continue to score goals at this prolific rate. However, they're going to make it close, beginning with a Game 3 win on Tuesday night. St. Louis over San Jose Ben Margot/Associated Press The Blues may be playing better on the road, but it's always nice for a team to return to their home ice in front of their fans. Plus, the last time St. Louis played there, it won Game 7 over the Dallas Stars in the second round. It was huge for the Blues to avoid a 0-2 deficit by winning Game 2 in San Jose. Now, they're going to build momentum as they continue to rely on a balanced scoring attack and goalie Jordan Binnington. "We're not going away," Blues center Brayden Schenn said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jim Thomas. "It's playoff hockey. It's gonna be ups and downs, momentum shifts." Binnington bounced back from a tough Game 1 showing to allow only two goals and make 24 saves in St. Louis' Game 2 victory. Expect another strong performance from the goaltender to power the Blues to another win.<doc-sep>The conference finals are officially underway, as the Boston Bruins used a huge third period to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1. The bad news? We have to wait a day until the Western Conference series begins on Saturday. Here's a recap of last night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Jump ahead: Last night's game | Three stars Play of the night | Social post of the day About last night ... Game 1: Boston Bruins 5, Carolina Hurricanes 2 (Bruins lead the series, 1-0) In the previous round, the Hurricanes saw firsthand how difficult it was for the Islanders to muster energy after a long layoff between rounds, but the Canes didn't seem to have that problem at all. Things opened up in the second period. According to Natural Stat Trick, there were a combined 13 scoring chances in the second (Carolina had a 7-6 edge) compared to just five in the first (Carolina had a 3-2 edge). Tuukka Rask, coming off an excellent second-round series, kept the Bruins in it. Then Boston surged with four goals in the third -- including two 28 seconds apart that regained the lead. The Bruins added an empty-netter and a breakaway goal in the closing minutes to make this game look less close than it was for the preceding 58. Three Stars 1. Marcus Johansson, C, Boston Bruins. Entering this game, the Bruins' power play had been the best of any team in the postseason (28.6 percent) but wasn't all too great in the Columbus series. Johansson and the second power-play unit helped reignite things, with a huge goal in the third to tie the score at 2-2. Johansson added an assist. 2. Tuukka Rask, G, Boston Bruins. Rask has been strong this postseason, and Thursday was yet another example. He stopped 29 of 31 shots, including some huge saves before and after his teammates' offensive explosion. 3. Greg McKegg, C, Carolina Hurricanes. It was the second straight game with a goal for the fourth-liner; before that, he had gone 23 straight games, dating back to the regular season, without one. It's a pretty cool moment for McKegg: The Hurricanes are his fourth team since the start of the 2016-17 season (he has been traded twice and waived twice). Play of the night And the first goal of the Eastern Conference Final has been scored by... Steven Kampfer, just as we all drew it up. #NHLBruins lead 1-0 pic.twitter.com/NAkHjEL3vN - Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 10, 2019 This was a special moment for Steven Kampfer, who drew into the lineup because of Charlie McAvoy's suspension. Kampfer, 30, was playing in his second career playoff game, a chance eight years in the making. No problem. He plugged in with a goal just three minutes in. "My parents always told me, if you're nervous, you're ready to go," he told NBC's Kathryn Tappen after the first period. Dud of the night Poor Dougie Hamilton. He got traded from Boston, and then his old fans serenaded him with chants of his name as he took two penalties. And not everyone agreed with this call. This? An NHL referee who I'm certain was assigned this game because he earned it, called this? That sets a ridiculous standard for this game and both teams, that he can't maintain... and won't. What a joke. Do better. https://t.co/Vo1dkZHu4l - Aaron Ward (@NHL_AaronWard) May 10, 2019 ...including Dougie. Dougie Hamilton reviewed video of both of his third-period penalties before speaking with reporters: "I just watched both of them and I didn't agree with either." - Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 10, 2019 Social post of the day Hintz played Game 7 with a broken foot. Janmark broke foot back in February or March and it kept getting aggravated. Zuccarello break was healed, but tendons were struggling and got injections before each game. - Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) May 9, 2019 Hockey Players are Tough, Volume 1, 332. Quotable Reporter: Can you talk about the Bergeron line Brind'Amour: Again?! - Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) May 9, 2019 Unfortunately for Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, he'll likely have to face the same questions before Game 2.<doc-sep>
As I’m sure you all know, the St. Louis Blues beat the Dallas Stars in a double-overtime win-or-go-home match. The San Jose Sharks followed suit, sending the Colorado Avalanche home after Thursday’s Game 7. That means the Sharks are back in the Western Conference Final. Can I get a heck yeah? But since we cover the Sharks daily, I guess we’ll just talk about the Eastern Conference now, were the Bruins and Hurricanes are fighting for a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. The Boston Bruins faced Game One without a key figure in their lineup. Charlie McAvoy was suspended one game after an illegal hit to the head of Josh Anderson during Game 6 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Without him, the Bruins held up just fine. The Carolina Hurricanes took several pointless penalties and the Bruins’ special teams capitalized on it. Prior to taking several penalties though, the Hurricanes were leading the Bruins 2-1 going into the third period. The Bruins went on to score four goals in the third period, ending the game with a 5-2 victory. Without spending so much time in the box, maybe the Hurricanes could have pulled off a win. The Carolina goals were scored by Sebastian Aho and Greg McKegg (10/10 name). Boston’s goals came from Marcus Johansson (a great trade deadline pick up for Boston), Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle (another great pick up), Steven Kampfer and Chris Wagner. Petr Mrazek returned to the net for Carolina, but he was far from blame in this game, making 23 saves. Tuukka Rask had 29 saves on the night. Game 2 saw the same mistakes for Carolina. The Boston Bruins won this one 6-2. Two of those goals were scored on the power play. Carolina’s kill isn’t great, like, not even a little. To quote Carolina’s captain Justin Williams, who put it lightly, “it was like eating a poop sandwich.” He also took a questionable penalty from Brad Marchand, in his defense. Petr Mrazek made 19 saves on 25 shots. Sunday’s performance wasn’t optimal for Carolina. Their goals were scored by Tuevo Teravainen and Justin Williams. Boston had goals from Danton Heinen, Connor Clifton (his first NHL goal), Jake DeBrusk, David Backes and two from Matt Grzelcyk. Tuukka Rask made 21 saves between the pipes for Boston. Will Curtis McElhinney see time in net for Carolina? It still seems up in the air. We’ll find out when the Canes return home for Game 3, tonight at 5 p.m. PT.