Round one of the 2015 NHL Playoffs is slowly but surely coming to an end with two more series facing elimination games on Thursday evening.

Here is a look at how things could shake out after Thursday:

NY Islanders vs. Washington Capitals - Game 5 (Series Tied 2-2)

The New York Islanders had a big chance to take a 3-1 series lead on Tuesday in front of the soldout Nassau Coliseum, but alas, the team faltered and the Isles are now faced with a tough task of winning two out of three in Washington (if the series goes seven). The Capitals will take pride in stealing back home ice advantage, but have to thank goalie Braden Holtby for making this a series.

The Islanders have heavily outchanced and outshot the Caps through three out of the four contests and looked like the dominant side in both games on Long Island. But Holtby has stood strong, making 40 stops in Sunday's 2-1 loss and then following that up with 36 saves in the 2-1 win.

The Islanders, meanwhile, have gotten strong goaltending from Jaroslav Halak, who sports a .930 save percentage through four games.

Nickolas Backstrom has been the hero of the series, leading all players with six points in the playoffs.

What will be of greater interest is how the Islanders respond to the injury by Lubomir Visnovsky at the hands of Tom Wilson. The Isles will likely give Griffin Reinhart or Ryan Pulock their playoff debuts, something the Caps might look to capitalize on. Will the Isles be out for blood or will they rally around their fallen teammate and pick up an emotional win? Or will the Caps, knowing that they can get away with similar hits, try and take out the returning but often-concussed Mikael Grabovski? Things could get ugly in the nation's capital. 

Prediction:  Islanders win Game 5 and put the Caps on the verge of elimination heading back to Long Island.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings - Game 4 (Red Wings Lead 2-1)

Many thought that the Lightning would have their way with Detroit, but through three games, the big story has been the Detroit penalty kill. Entering the series, Detroit sported the 17th best penalty kill in the league while the Lightning had one of the better power plays. But, alas, the Lightning have gone 2/17, despite having six chances in Game Three and seven in Game One.

This has neutralized goaltending concerns for the Red Wings, who have seen Peter Mrazek go from hero in Game One to villain in the followup and back to a hero in the most recent matchup.

And then there is the issue of star power. Pavel Datsyuk has two goals in this series while Lightning star Steven Stamkos has yet to register a goal in the three games.

Prediction: Tampa Bay forces Game Six by winning in Detroit.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators - Game 5 (Chicago Leads 3-1)

Chicago is in full control after stealing Game One in overtime and then winning twice on home ice. The most recent game is arguably the most painful for Nashville as the team blew two leads and imploded in triple overtime on its way to falling behind by two games in this series. Returning home could be a big boost, but the reality is that Nashville is not beating Chicago if it cannot hold a lead.

The Predators have blown a lead on five occasions in this series including a 3-0 lead in Game one. The Blackhawks have blown two series in this game and only really led for a substantial period of time in Game Three. In that game, the team managed three goals in the second period and then held onto the lead for the remaining 36 minutes of the game.

Prediction: It has been a tight series, but Chicago closes out Nashville on the road.

 Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames - Game 5 (Calgary Leads 3-1)

Things have been ugly in this series, but few expected the upstart Calgary Flames to be running away with the series heading into Game 5.

The major factor has been goaltending. While Jonas Hiller has stopped .938 percent of the shots he has faced for the Flames, Eddie Lack has a .886 save percentage and was pulled in favor of Ryan Miller in Game Four. It is likely that Miller becomes the main man for what remains of the series, but it may be too little too late for Vancouver.

One talking point heading into the series was Calgary's poor possession stats, but they have only been outshot by Vancouver in two of the four games. That said, Calgary has been the worst team in creating shot attempts with the score close while Vancouver has been the best. If this trend holds up, the Canucks should be able to push this series to back to Calgary for Game Six.