SHARKSPAGE

NHL announces official start to Western Conference Finals, puck will drop on Sharks-Blackhawks Sunday at high noon

A press release from the NHL:

NEW YORK – The National Hockey League today announced that the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Western Conference Final, featuring the San Jose Sharks vs. the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Eastern Conference Final, featuring the Montreal Canadiens vs. the winner of the Boston Bruins-Philadelphia Flyers Conference Semifinal series, will begin Sunday, May 16.

The Sharks will host the Blackhawks at 3 p.m., ET in Game #1 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday. The game will be televised exclusively on NBC in the U.S. and TSN and RDS in Canada.

Meanwhile, either the Bruins or the Flyers will host the Canadiens Sunday at 7 p.m., ET. That game will be televised exclusively by VERSUS in the U.S. and by CBC and RDS in Canada. Every playoff game also can be heard on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

Game #7 of the Bruins-Flyers series, which is tied 3-3, will be played Friday, May 14 at 7 p.m. ET. That game will be televised nationally by VERSUS in the U.S. and by TSN and RDS in Canada.

The remaining 2010 Stanley Cup Conference Final schedule information will be released tomorrow.

Other upcoming dates via media.nhl.com: May 24-29: NHL Combine (Toronto), June 18: Latest possible date for Stanley Cup Final game, June 23: NHL Awards (Las Vegas), June 25-26: NHL Entry Draft (Los Angeles), July 1: Free agency begins for players with expiring contracts.

[Update] Here is the schedule for HP Pavilion. If there is a game 5 in San Jose, back-to-back Saturday and Sunday away and home games may not be possible. There is a Stars on Ice performance Sunday, May 23rd at 4PM. There is a Maxwell and Jill Scott performance at the United Center in Chicago on Tuesday the 25th, and a Roberto Carlos concert in San Jose on Friday the 28th.