NHL 2015 Playoffs Schedule: TV Channels, Betting Odds For First Round

The 2015 NHL playoffs officially begin when the Montreal Canadiens host the wild card Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night at Bell Centre. Owning the top spot in one of the Eastern Conference’s two brackets, the Canadiens wrapped up the regular season with three straight victories for a 50-22-10 overall record. Ottawa on the other hand won six of its last seven games to squeak into the postseason as one of the conference’s two wild cards.

Arguably one of the most exciting times of the year on the sports calendar, the Stanley Cup playoffs are when fans get to see a new champion crowned. The defending champ Los Angeles Kings will miss the postseason for the first time since 2009, continuing the NHL’s 17-year run without back-to-back winners. The last franchise to claim consecutive Cups was the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.

Instead, the team L.A. defeated in last year’s Cup Final, the New York Rangers, enter the postseason as a solid favorite to win their first title since 1994. As the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Rangers, who finished the regular season 53-22-7 with the league’s third-highest scoring and third-best defense, are tabbed as 11-2 favorites, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues at 8-1.

The No. 1-seeded Rangers begin their quest Thursday against the No. 8 Pittsburgh Penguins, with NBC Sports showing Game 1 of the seven-game series, from Madison Square Garden.

In the Western Conference, the No. 1 Anaheim Ducks take on the No. 8 Winnipeg Jets in the first round. The Ducks finished in a tie with the Blues with 109 points apiece, but Anaheim held the tiebreaker with 49 combined regulation and overtime wins compared to 48 for St. Louis.

The Blues will face the Minnesota Wild with Game 1 of the series starting Thursday night in St. Louis.

NBC and its sister stations will air the majority of the postseason games. The full schedule is below, with NBC Sports, USA, CNBC, and NBC showing most of the slate, but the NHL Network will show the very first game of the playoffs between Ottawa and Montreal.

The odds-on favorites to win the title are right after the first-round’s schedule through four games.

TV Schedule (All times listed are EDT.)

Game 1s

Wednesday

Ottawa at Montreal, 7 p.m. on NHL Network

N.Y. Islanders at Washington, 7 p.m. on USA

Chicago at Nashville, 8:30 p.m. on NBC Sports

Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m. on USA

Thursday

Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. on NBC Sports

Detroit at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. on CNBC

Minnesota at St. Louis, 9:30 p.m. on NBC Sports

Winnipeg at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. on CNBC

Game 2s

Friday

Ottawa at Montreal, 7 p.m. on CNBC

N.Y. Islanders at Washington, 7p.m. on NBC Sports

Chicago at Nashville, 9:30 p.m. on NBC Sports

Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m. on CNBC

Saturday

Minnesota at St. Louis, 3 p.m. on NBC

Detroit at Tampa Bay, 3 p.m. on NBC

Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, 8 p.m. on NBC

Winnipeg at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. on NBC Sports

Game 3s

Sunday

Washington at N.Y. Islanders, 12 p.m. on NBC

Nashville at Chicago, 3 p.m. on NBC

Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m. on NBC Sports

Vancouver at Calgary, 10 p.m. NBC Sports

Monday, April 20

N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. on NBC Sports

St. Louis at Minnesota, 8 p.m. on CNBC

Anaheim at Winnipeg, 9 p.m. on NBC Sports

Tuesday, April 21

Tampa Bay at Detroit, 7 p.m. on NBC Sports

Game 4s

Tuesday, April 21

Tampa Bay at Detroit, 7 p.m. on NBC Sports

Washington at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 p.m. on USA

Nashville at Chicago, 9:30 p.m. on NBC Sports

Vancouver at Calgary, 10 p.m. on USA

Wednesday, April 22

Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m. on USA

N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. on NBC Sports

St. Louis at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. on NBC Sports

Anaheim at Winnipeg, 9:30 p.m. on USA

Thursday, April 23

Tampa Bay at Detroit, 7 p.m. on NBC Sports

Odds To Win The Stanley Cup

N.Y. Rangers 11-2

Chicago Blackhawks 8-1

St. Louis Blues 8-1

Anaheim Ducks 9-1

Minnesota Wild 9-1

Montreal Canadiens 9-1

Tampa Bay Lightning 10-1

Nashville Predators 12-1

Pittsburgh Penguins 16-1

Vancouver Canucks 16-1

The full list of odds can be found at Bovada.lv. here.