Sports on Television: April 22, 2012

What's on television in the world of sports for April 22, 2012? Three NHL playoff games--all possible elimination games--top notch NBA basketball as we complete the final regular season weekend, NASCAR racing in Kansas City, and some early season baseball, including the rubber-game between the Reds and Cubs.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff: Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers (Noon, NBC)
The Flyers lead the series 3-2, hoping to a game seven against the Penguins, who have won the last two games.

NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup in Kansas City, Kansas (12:30pm, FOX)
Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and the rest of the NASCAR greats look to win at Kansas City Speedway this afternoon. Brad Keselowski won this race in 2011.

MLB Baseball: Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers (1:00pm, TBS)
Justin Verlander seems to be the only man in the majors who can subdue a potent Texas lineup, but unfortunately for Detroit he's already pitched in this series (and won). With a +51 run differential in this young season, Texas looks to take today's game and the series.

NBA Basketball: New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks (1:00pm, ESPN)
Carmelo Anthony is hitting his stride at the right time for the Knicks, but the question remains as to whether he will be able to mesh with A'mare Stoudemire, who returns to the starting lineup today. The Atlanta Hawks--basically cemented as the No. 5 seed in the East - pose a tough test to the Knicks.

MLB Baseball: Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs (2:20pm, Fox Sports Ohio)
Johnny Cueto and the Reds look to take two out of three at Wrigley this afternoon. Ryan Dempster is a recent addition to the DL, so Randy Wells will make the start for Chicago - a team looking to win its first series of the year.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals (3:00pm, NBC)
The reigning Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins face a must-win on the road this afternoon, down 3-2 in this opening round series.

NBA Basketball: Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers (3:30pm, ABC)
Two NBA Finals hopefuls square off in Los Angeles today. Oklahoma City is just a half game behind San Antonio for the top seed in the West, while the Lakers look to hit their playoff form against a potent Kevin Durant led Thunder offense.

MLS Soccer: DC United vs. New York Red Bulls (6:00pm, ESPN2)
Two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference square off in this early season MLS matchup

MLB Baseball: New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox (8:00pm, ESPN)
Baseball's most bitter rivals close out their weekend series on Sunday Night Baseball. Yesterday, New York came back from a nine run deficit to defeat the Red Sox 15-9, so Boston hopes to recover from an already embarrassing young season.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff: Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks (8:00p, NBC Sports)
Vancouver won game four in Los Angeles to narrowly avoid a sweep at the hands of the No. 8 seed Kings, but they are still faced with an uphill battle down 3-1 in the series. If Vancouver is able somehow win the next three games, they'd become the 4th team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.