NHL Playoff Bracket 2011: Dates And Times Set For First Round

Read More: Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks

The Detroit Red Wings will kick off their first-round NHL Playoffs matchup against the six-seeded Phoenix Coyotes Wednesday, April 13, at 6 PM. Elsewhere in the Western Conference's Central Division, the Nashville Predators take on No. 4 Anaheim Ducks at 9:30 PM, and the Chicago Blackhawks, having sneaked into the playoffs after their controversial win against the St. Louis Blues, find themselves up against the one-seed Vancouver Canucks at 9 PM. In the Blues-fan schadenfreude TV schedule I can see the Blackhawks game coming first... just a hunch. 

The NHL Playoffs kick off as a whole on Wednesday, when the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at 6:00. Game sevens, as necessary, are scheduled through April 27, which is quite a ways away. 

The rest of the playoff schedule for days one and two: The Washington Capitals will play another Wednesday game, taking on the New York Rangers at 6:30; the Philadelphia Flyers and the Buffalo Sabres meet on Thursday, at 6:30; and the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens, sans Ultimate Playoff Hero Jaroslav Halak, play that day at 6:00, while the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings go at 9:00.