NHL Playoff Preview

Written by Tyler Conway at Bleacher Reports.com

The 2017 NHL playoffs will officially set Sunday, with the final seedings in both conferences shaking their way out.

The field of 16 has already been set, with the final spots being clinched over the weekend. The Boston Bruins will make an appearance despite losing their final two games, while the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames have long since ensured they’d get to at least the first round.

With the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks having locked up the No. 1 seeds, we have a pretty good idea how things should shake out once the playoffs actually get underway. Here’s a look at the latest postseason bracket, along with Stanley Cup odds coming into Sunday.

Anaheim Wins the Western Conference

The Ducks, currently sitting as the No. 3 seed in the West, come into Sunday having won three straight games and are arguably the hottest team in the sport. They are 8-0-2 over their last 10 contests, helping them push past the Edmonton Oilers for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Much of the credit can be handed to John Gibson, the 23-year-old goaltender who is emerging as a potential breakout star over the next couple of months. Gibson’s 25-16-9 record doesn’t look great on the surface, but he’d been a victim of bad luck for most of the season before Anaheim got hot late. He has a 2.22 goals-against average that ranks fourth in the NHL, and he hasn’t lost a step since returning from a lower-body injury.

The Ducks are 2-0-1 with him in net this month, and he made 37 saves in a shutout win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

As cliche as it is to say hot goaltending wins championships, it’s a theory proved time and again during the postseason. The Ducks seemingly have things figured out on the defensive end, and Gibson came back at the perfect time.

If they can even improve their goal-scoring a little bit, the Ducks are going to be a hard out.

The Capitals Finally Get It Done

There’s a common theme with the Capitals: They choke during the postseason. There is no polite way to word it. There may be no team with a worse playoff resume in the 21st century.

The Capitals have won the Southeast/Metropolitan Division eight times since the turn of the century. They have been eliminated in the first round five times. They’ve reached the conference finals exactly zero times.

This will be the second straight year Washington led the NHL in points. The Pittsburgh Penguins, long postseason nemeses of the Caps, knocked them out in six games during the second round a year ago. Their other time as NHL points leader, 2009-10, led to a first-round exit.

Once again, the Capitals look impenetrable during the regular season. They are plus-83 in goal differential, 25 points better than any other team. Washington is second in goals scored and first in goals against.

Braden Holtby has emerged as arguably the game’s best goaltender at age 27, sitting second in goals-against average.