The St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks did not get off on the right foot in the opening games of their respective conference semifinal series, and they both must up their level of play when they take the ice Friday night.The Blues lost their opener on home ice to the Nashville Predators, and must come through with a much sharper effort Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. The Preds are now 5-0 in the postseason after sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round and picking up a 4-3 victory in Game 1.They have an excellent chance to keep it going Friday night because of their versatile attack that starts with the talent on the blue line. P.K. Subban had a goal and two assists in Game 1, and he is joined by Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis as defensemen who can trigger the Nashville attack from the back end.Subban and Ellis both have five postseason points, while Josi has four, and all three have the ability to get their shots and passes through the layers of the defense because they can keep their heads up before making plays. That gives them a big advantage over most other defensemen."I try to live up to what I'm paid to do," Subban said after Game 1, per Michael Traikos of Canada's National Post. "I just try to step up and lead by example on the ice and do my job and today I got lucky a couple times, the puck went in for me."Additionally, they have a couple of heavy centers in Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen who can hold on to the puck and make creative plays, as well as slick right wing Viktor Arvidsson who has the speed and decisiveness to make big-splash plays.The Preds put the Blues on their heels in Game 1 by building a 3-1 lead in Game 1, and that kind of advantage allowed them to dictate the pace of the game. The Blues showed they could mount a third-period comeback and tied the score before the Preds took charge in the late going when Vernon Fiddler scored the decisive goal.St. Louis has gotten a big lift from their high-scoring forwards, and Vladimir Tarasenko is their most explosive triggerman as a result of his quick-release wrist shot. Tarasenko has scored just one goal in the first six playoff games, but he is capable of exploding at any time.Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Steen have picked up the slack with six and four points, respectively. The Blues have also received a huge lift from the return of Vladimir Sobotka, who had played three seasons in the KHL before returning to the Blues prior to the postseason.Sobotka is a clever playmaker with quite a bit of grit, and he has scored two goals and two assists and has been in the middle of the action since his return to the Blues.Here's a look at the playoff schedule for the conference semifinal round.The Oilers do not look like a team that is returning to the postseason for the first time since 2006. They showed quite a bit of resourcefulness in beating the San Jose Sharks in six games during the first round, and the bright lights of the second round seemed to agree with them as they pulled off a 5-3 victory in Game 1 on the road against the Anaheim Ducks.The Oilers appear to be on a path to becoming a consistent force in the Stanley Cup playoffs, thanks in large part to the presence of superstar Connor McDavid.After an injury-plagued rookie season that limited him to 45 games, McDavid remained healthy in 2016-17, and he led the league in scoring with 100 points. McDavid has explosive speed and regularly puts opposing defensemen on their heels because he can blow by them if they are not prepared.The Oilers are not a one-man team, either. In addition to McDavid,Leon Draisaitl is a sharp and creative center who can make plays for himself or his teammates. Draisaitl leads the Oilers with seven points in the playoffs.Veteran power forward Milan Lucic was a big part of the Boston Bruins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and reached the Final in 2013. When Lucic has his skating game going, he is a beast in front of the net, and the Oilers have another strong power forward in ex-Duck Patrick Maroon.Anaheim rolled to a four-game sweep in the first round over the Calgary Flames, but all four of those games were close, and the Ducks benefited from a few breaks throughout the third period.That was not the case in Game 1 against the Oilers. Edmonton had built a 3-1 third-period lead, but the Ducks seemed to have all the momentum when they responded and tied the game.However, when Edmonton defenseman Adam Larsson's centering pass from behind the net deflected past Anaheim goalie John Gibson, the Ducks had to chase the game again.They were not able to get the tying goal past goalie Cam Talbot, and that gave the Oilers the needed road win to open the series.This series appears to be a tight one, and it may be difficult for either team to string victories together.The Ottawa Senators will try to increase their lead over the New York Rangers when they take the ice at home Saturday afternoon, while the Washington Capitals will try to even their series later that night against the defending Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins.Both the Senators and Penguins lead their respective series by a 1-0 margin.
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