NHL Playoff Picture 2015: Latest Postseason Bracket, Predictions and More

March Madness may refer to the NCAA tournament but could just as well be applied to the NHL playoff race down the stretch run of the season.

After all, some of the marquee franchises in the league are battling for position near the bottom of the postseason picture, which makes these last few regular-season games all the more intriguing. Playoff spots are up for grabs, and the all-important seeding will be sorted out in the coming weeks.

Here is a look at the latest postseason picture as well as a couple of things to watch for as the regular season winds down.

Bracket 

The latest postseason bracket with current projected matchups can be found here, courtesy of NHL.com.

Eastern Conference Race to Watch: Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators 

Alan Diaz/Associated Press

The Boston Bruins lost a heartbreaking series in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final and won the Stanley Cup in 2011, but they may not even reach the postseason this year without a strong finishing kick.

The Bruins have made the playoffs every year since a disappointing 2006-07 campaign and hope to continue that streak by overcoming the Ottawa Senators.

As of Tuesday evening, the Bruins were a single point behind the Senators in the Eastern Conference standings. Boston has nine games remaining, five of which come away from home, while Ottawa has 10 games remaining, with five coming at home and five on the road. From a sheer numbers standpoint, the Senators have the advantage with the extra game.

What’s more, Boston has lost five games in a row, including a head-to-head defeat at Ottawa on March 19.

That’s not the only bad news for the Bruins. They lost defenseman Dougie Hamilton indefinitely to an upper-body injury, which is not ideal timing before the postseason push, as Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com noted:

"Losing Hamilton's services in the midst of a five-game losing skid, while the team is fighting for a playoff spot, does not bode well for the Bruins. Until his injury, Hamilton had played in all 72 games this season, recording 10 goals and 32 assists for 42 points. He also had a minus-3 rating."

Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press

Ottawa, on the other hand, has won seven games in a row and 10 of its last 11 and is playing some of the best hockey in the entire league. A big reason why has been goaltending sensation Andrew Hammond, as Fox Sports Live pointed out:

"

Andrew Hammond improves to 14-0-1 & the @Senators overtake the #Bruins for the 2nd wild card spot in the East  pic.twitter.com/MMJDTqu7Xy

— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) March 24, 2015"

With Hammond in net and the Senators trending in the right direction, it is hard to pick against them in the postseason race with Boston for a wild-card spot.

The Bruins are struggling at the wrong time, have lost key pieces to injury and have one fewer game remaining on the schedule to pick up critical points. Look for Ottawa to seize that postseason spot and leave Boston out in the cold for the first time in years when the playoffs start. 

Prediction: Senators make the playoffs, and the Bruins miss out on the postseason fun.

Western Conference Team to Watch: Los Angeles Kings

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Speaking of NHL franchises that have done a lot of winning recently but may miss the playoffs altogether this season, the Los Angeles Kings are on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoff picture.

All the Kings did last season is win the Stanley Cup, and they also won it in the 2011-12 campaign. They squeezed a Conference Finals appearance in between those two Cups and lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in what has become one of the most entertaining postseason battles in the sport the past couple of seasons.

However, entering play Tuesday against the New York Rangers, the Kings were four points behind the Winnipeg Jets with some serious ground to cover in their 10 remaining games.

Part of the problem is that Los Angeles has given away some winnable games, as forward Justin Williams noted via Josh Cooper of Yahoo Sports: “The last two games in this building we’ve given up third-period leads, which come playoff time we know is a recipe for elimination. It’s something we obviously have to look at. We need to shut those games down.”

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Teams cannot afford to let leads slip away in crunch time during a postseason push, regardless of whether they are the defending champs or not. Throw in a struggling offense that ranked 18th in the league in goals per game before Tuesday’s contest, and superstar goaltender Jonathan Quick may not get a chance to defend his Cup this season.

The inconsistent Kings are going to run out of games to climb back into the postseason picture. 

Prediction: Kings miss the playoffs.

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