PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 11: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins handles the puck in front of Nicklas Grossmann #8 of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 11, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks, two trendy picks to make the Stanley Cup finals, look to avoid consecutive home losses that would drop them into 0-2 holes in their first-round series.
Day three of the Stanley Cup playoffs will start off with Game 1 of the last remaining series to start, as the New Jersey Devils travel to South Florida to face the Florida Panthers. The Devils finished with eight more points than Florida in the standings, but because the Cats won the NHL's Southeast Division, they earned the three seed in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage.
The remaining games scheduled for Friday night feature the crucial second game in three series. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks -- picked by many to represent their conferences in the Stanley Cup finals -- both lost the opening games of their quarterfinals series on home ice on Wednesday night. The Pens squandered a three-goal lead and will look to pull even with the rival Flyers before the series moves to Philadelphia. The No. 1 seed Canucks will look to avoid the 0-2 hole before their series against the Los Angeles Kings heads to Southern California.
The other Western Conference game will feature the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators, two evenly matched teams set to drop the puck at 7:30 p.m. ET. No team in the league won more games at home than Detroit, so the Preds will work for a two-game cushion in Music City before heading to Hockeytown.
The full schedule:
No. 6 New Jersey Devils at No. 3 Florida Panthers
7 p.m. ET -- Game 1, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals | Series tied, 0-0
National TV: NHLN, TSN, RDSI | Local TV: MSG+, FS Florida
No. 5 Philadelphia Flyers at No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins
7:30 p.m. ET -- Game 2, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals | Flyers lead, 1-0
National TV: NBCSN, TSN, RDS | Local TV: CSN Philly, ROOT Pittsburgh
No. 5 Detroit Red Wings at No. 4 Nashville Predators
7:30 p.m. ET -- Game 2, Western Conference Quarterfinals | Predators lead, 1-0
National TV: CNBC, CBC, RDS2 | Local TV: FS Detroit, SportSouth
No. 8 Los Angeles Kings at No. 1 Vancouver Canucks
10 p.m. ET -- Game 2, Western Conference Quarterfinals | Kings lead, 1-0
National TV: NBCSN, CBC, RDS | Local TV: KCOP 13
For complete coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, stick with SB Nation's NHL hub. You can find team-by-team coverage from our network of hockey blogs.
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