May 19, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; A general view of the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo on on the ice before game two in the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The first month of the Stanley Cup playoffs is coming to a close, and as promised, we’ll continue to provide weekly updates for what’s happening around the league.

Western Conference

Series A

The Chicago Blackhawks seem to have met their match with the Detroit Red Wings, who currently lead the semi-final series two games to one. And though Chicago notched the first victory of the series 4-1, Detroit has battled back to beat Chicago in fascinating style, 4-1 and 3-1, in games two and three. Marian Hossa, Jonathan Towes and Patrick Kane continue to put points on the board for the Blackhawks, while Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have only three points in the series combined for the Red Wings. Game four kicks off Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. in Detroit. The game will be shown on NBCSN.

Series B

The defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings currently lead the San Jose Sharks two games to one in the semi-final series. The Kings shut out the Sharks 2-0 in game one, but games two and three came down to a single goal. Los Angeles won game two 4-5, but San Jose battled back in game three to beat Los Angeles in overtime, 2-1. Mike Richards, Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown have kept the pressure on the Sharks, and Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture have combined for five points in the series, including Couture’s game-winner in overtime Saturday. The Sharks are currently winning game four in San Jose, 2-0.

Eastern Conference

Series C

The Pittsburgh Penguins currently hold a 2-1 series lead over the Ottawa Senators, and despite Pittsburgh taking game one in decisive fashion with a 4-1 final score, the Senators have proven they won’t go down without a fight. Game two and game three were decided by a single goal, 4-3 for Pittsburgh in game two and 2-1 for Ottawa in double overtime in game three. Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby continue to play significant roles in Pittsburgh’s victories, and Colin Greening has become the backbone of the Senators this series, scoring a goal in all three games, including the game winner in Ottawa Sunday. The teams face off in game four tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NBCSN.

Series D

Boston seems to have discovered what it takes to disassemble the Rangers, and is looking to land the final blow in game four, clinching a spot in the conference finals as the only team to sweep its opponent in the semi-finals. It hasn’t been an easy battle for the Bruins though, who held off New York by a single goal in both game one and game three. Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug and Brad Marchand have been momentous for the Bruins. Chara and Marchand notched two points each in game one, and Krug and Marchand recorded two each in game two. Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh have recorded two points each for the Rangers. Game four starts Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.

UPDATE: The San Jose Sharks won game four against the Los Angeles Kings 2-1, tying the series 2-2.

Apr 7, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks defense Brent Burns (88) takes a shot against Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (32) during the second period at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Stars relinquished control of their playoff destiny in last night’s 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks. While the Stars aren’t necessarily out of the running for eighth place, chances they’ll wind up there are about as slim as they can get.

So what needs to happen to put the Stars in that coveted eighth spot? First, ninth place Detroit, which has three games remaining in the season, would have to lose to Los Angeles tonight, Nashville tomorrow night and Dallas Saturday, and eighth place Columbus would have to lose to the Stars Thursday and the Predators Saturday. Added to that scenario, Dallas would have to win both games Thursday and Saturday against both Detroit and Columbus. And though attaching the word impossible to this string of events isn’t entirely accurate, tagging on highly improbable is.

San Jose tallied the first goal in the game with a goal by Raffi Torres while the Sharks were a minute into the team’s second power play of the game. Dallas held off a vicious onslaught just six minutes earlier when Tom Wandell headed to the penalty box because there were too many men on the ice. Despite being pelted with shots, both Lehtonen and the team’s defense held off the onslaught. Dallas’ Antoine Roussel returned the goal just two minutes later, closing out the period in a 1-1 tie.

Dallas scored the only goal of the second period with just 17 seconds gone from the clock. Loui Eriksson, who seemed to be stuck in a dry spell in goal-scoring, snuck the puck behind San Jose goalie Antti Niemi to put the Stars up 2-1.

The third period belonged to the Sharks, who scored two goals just 30 seconds apart. Joe Pavelski tied the game with a tip in with 14:23 remaining in the period. Logan Couture launched the winning goal past Lehtonen at 14:53.

Lehtonen faced 37 total shots in the game, while Dallas only sent 26 toward Niemi.

The Stars return home to close out the regular season at the American Airlines Center, and face the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday night. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.