NHL Playoffs 2015: Dates, Live Stream Schedule and Stanley Cup Bracket

The 2015 NHL playoffs' unique seeding format makes for an interesting field of 16 teams and should lend to a fair amount of parity.

Check out the full bracket of what the road to the Stanley Cup looks like, courtesy of the NHL's official Twitter account:

Half of the first-round series will have their pucks drop this Wednesday, while the others will start Thursday. A complete list of the dates and information for all the games can be found through NHL.com's coverage listings.

The live stream schedule can be accessed by way of NBC Live Extra. Read on for more detailed analysis of the two regular-season conference champions in the New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks.

Analyzing NHL Conference Leaders

New York Rangers (East)

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With a seasoned veteran in Henrik Lundqvist entrenched as goalie and a capable backup in Cam Talbot behind him, the Blueshirts have an outstanding defense that's among the best in the NHL.

Also helping is a loaded attack featuring prolific goal scorer Rick Nash. Even at this late stage in his career, Martin St. Louis is still producing big, making New York's huge deadline trade involving former captain Ryan Callahan from last season continue to look smart.

NHLNumbers.com notes how effective Nash has been even without the advantage of a power play:

These Rangers are a balanced bunch of stars who have so many ways to win. Their first-round opponent is a difficult one, though.

The Pittsburgh Penguins barely made the postseason. However, with plenty of firepower between Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, they are a dangerous foe who could end the Rangers' Stanley Cup aspirations abruptly.

As Crosby hinted, per the team's official Twitter account, the Pens are at least in the hunt with a chance to see what they can do after a rough regular season:

In 41 career playoff games, Nash has just five goals, while Pittsburgh's All-Star forwards have been to the pinnacle of pro hockey before—and played at a high level in doing so.

Although New York should manage to get by Pittsburgh in a hard-fought opening round, its chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Finals and winning hinge a lot on Nash's play. If he's producing at his regular-season level, the Rangers' odds to claim the top prize are significantly shorter.

Anaheim Ducks (West)

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As a means of further illustrating the parity aspect hinted at in the lede, it's worth breaking down what the Ducks' chances are to make a run at Lord Stanley's Cup.

The Ducks have their own tough test ahead, facing a highly motivated and underrated Winnipeg Jets club that figures to be a trendy upset pick. Winnipeg is a revived franchise getting its first playoff action since 1996, so passions will be high at the MTS Centre.

NHL Network's Steve Mears throws caution to those writing off the Ducks:

To make a counterpoint, a 28th-ranked power play is a troublesome trend Anaheim hasn't been able to buck over such a large, 82-game sample size. Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times highlighted how it's recently been a glaring weakness:

Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec will be making his postseason debut off a tremendous finish to the regular season, when he posted three consecutive shutouts.

Both teams have considerable depth in terms of offensive production. Anaheim's go-to man is Ryan Getzlaf, the captain and catalyst for what should be a strong Ducks contender if they can manage to overcome Winnipeg.

So much will depend on Anaheim holding its home advantage. If it is unable to get two wins to start off, immense scrutiny will shift the Ducks' way. Coach Bruce Boudreau will be under the microscope as well, because he's gotten past the conference semifinals in six postseason trips—all of which were with division champions in Anaheim and Washington.