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Four games have three potential first round clinchers on tap for a busy Saturday

Pittsburgh Penguins v Tampa Bay Lightning - Game Four

TAMPA, FL - APRIL 20: Jordan Staal #11 of the Pittsburgh Penguins reacts to a goal scored for the win by teammate James Neal #18 in the second overtime period against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the St. Pete Times Forum on April 20, 2011 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)

Eliot J. Schechter

It’s as big and busy of a Saturday as you’ll find in the playoffs as four games will dominate your afternoon and evening across the NHL playoff landscape and there’s the possibility we’ll see three teams lock up spots in the second round of the postseason today. Oh yeah and we’ve also got the Bruins and Canadiens looking to beat the tar out of each other again. If your groove in the couch hasn’t been carved out yet, it will be after today. All times are Eastern

Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh - 12 noon (Versus) - Pittsburgh leads series 3-1

A little afternoon delight for the Penguins as they’ll look to wrap things up with the Lightning and after seeing James Neal get the game winner in Game 4, they’ll be hoping to see him continue filling the net. As for Tampa Bay, we’re still waiting on Steve Stamkos to show up in this series. Through four games, Stamkos has just one assist. Meanwhile, Martin St. Louis has been carrying the team on his back in hopes of getting through the first round. He needs some help though and he’ll need some tougher goaltending out of Dwayne Roloson. Roloson’s been OK, but the three goals he allowed in Game 4 were all very stoppable shots. If he’s not big today, the Lightning will be pondering what could’ve been at the end of the day.

NY Rangers @ Washington - 3 p.m. (NBC) - Washington leads series 3-1

The Caps will be looking to take a sort of zen approach heading into Game 5 as they look to close out the Rangers. They keep saying they’re not thinking about last year’s first round loss to Montreal, but you know in the back of their heads they realize they had the Canadiens in this spot last season and failed to close them out. For the Rangers, they’re hoping that Henrik Lundqvist can do his part to evoke the spirit of Jaroslav Halak while the rest of his teammates figure out a way to score goals and play smart defense to hold a lead.

Montreal @ Boston - 7 p.m. (Versus) - Series tied 2-2

Is it really home ice advantage for the Bruins in this game or should the Habs have any kind of comfort level playing in front of a hostile crowd in Boston? We’ll see how much their tough Game 4 overtime loss affects them mentally as they were able to score first on the B’s in that game and managed to blow a 3-1 lead before losing in OT. Montreal is hard-headed enough to know they just have to stick to what they do well to frustrate Boston but they should fear the Bruins getting reinvigorated with confidence after sweeping the Canadiens in Montreal. For now, Montreal hopes that this “road team winning” trend continues and they can get a shot at finishing things at home.

Los Angeles @ San Jose - 10:30 p.m. (Versus) - San Jose leads series 3-1

The Kings are hoping they can find a stroke of luck and some better defense and goaltending to put some fear into the Sharks. Scott Parse will rejoin the Kings lineup in Game 5 to give them someone a bit more helpful than either Oscar Moller or Kevin Westgarth. No, Dustin Penner won’t hit the press box although you’d have to think coach Terry Murray would be tempted to do so. The Sharks are hoping that they can again twist the knife on the Kings and put them down for good.

San Jose’s getting tremendous production out of Joe Pavelski and Ryane Clowe in this series and considering those guys play on what’s essentially their third line, that doesn’t bode well for the Kings prospects on the road tonight. Jon Quick will hope to evoke some of that magic he had in Game 2 to fire up his team to get back into this series.