The final weekend of the NHL regular season was a buzz kill, but the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday should present a quick cure.
A matchup between the Red Wings, who backed into their 25th consecutive playoff appearance, and the Steven Stamkos-less Lightning gets things rolling with a 7 p.m. ET puck drop. But then it gets good: The Penguins square off with the Rangers at 8 p.m. ET followed by the Blackhawks and Blues at 9:30 p.m. ET.
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All first-round games will be broadcast in the United States across NBC's family of networks: NBC, NBCSN, USA and MSNBC.