NHL Playoff Schedule 2017: Latest Stanley Cup Championship Odds and Guide

After two consecutive days without Stanley Cup playoff action, the NHL's Western Conference will be back at it Wednesday night as the St. Louis Blues host the upstart Nashville Predators, and the Edmonton Oilers travel to Anaheim to take on the rested Ducks.

The Predators not only came through with the biggest upset in the first round, they completed their victory over the Chicago Blackhawks with authority. Chicago had been the favorite to win the Stanley Cup going into the playoffs based on winning three league championships since 2010.

The Preds never hesitated, though, and defeated the Blackhawks in four consecutive games. Goaltender Pekka Rinne authored back-to-back shutouts in the first two games of the series in Chicago, and the Preds simply showed more resiliency, speed and aggressiveness when the series moved to Nashville for Games 3 and 4.

Conference	Team	Odds
Eastern	Washington Capitals	+325
Eastern	Pittsburgh Penguins	+450
Western	Anaheim Ducks	+550
Western	Edmonton Oilers	+550
Western	St. Louis Blues	+650
Western	Nashville Predators	+700
Eastern	New York Rangers	+800
Eastern	Ottawa Senators	+1,00

The St. Louis Blues were strong in their series with the Minnesota Wild, defeating their opponents in five games.

The Blues were opportunistic against Minnesota, relying on Jake Allen's strong goaltending and getting clutch goals from several unexpected sources in their lineup.

They won Game 1 on an overtime goal by defenseman Joel Edmundson, and he was at the top of the Blues' goal-scoring list with two, along with Alexander Steen and Jaden Schwartz.

If the Blues are going to continue winning games and series in the Stanley Cup playoffs, they will need more from star left wing Vladimir Tarasenko, who scored one goal in the victory over the Wild.

The oddsmakers see this series as even, as both teams come into it at minus-110, according to OddsShark. Handicappers wagering on either team must risk $110 to earn a $100 profit should that team emerge in the series.

Here's a look at the conference semifinal schedule. 

While both the Preds and Blues came up with first-round upsets, the Oilers and Ducks won their series as favorites.

The Oilers made their return to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 a successful one by beating the San Jose Sharks in six games.

Every time the Oilers take the ice, all eyes are on Connor McDavid, who appears to be the game's next standard-bearer.

McDavid has a dramatic impact on every game he plays because of his explosive speed and skill. He led the league in scoring with 100 points during the regular season, and he has a chance to make huge plays as a result of his ability to blow by defenders and create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.

McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Oscar Klefbom and Milan Lucic give the Oilers a solid core of players who can assert themselves and make clutch plays at the most important moments.

McDavid had two goals and two assists in the six-game victory over the Sharks, but he should be able to score at an even greater rate against the Ducks. Draisaitl is also an excellent scorer and playmaker, while Klefbom has a powerful shot from the blue line.

Lucic is one of the strongest power forwards in the league, and when he is skating well he can be a big-time threat who can park himself in front of the net and make life miserable for opposing goaltenders.

Anaheim swept the upstart Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs, and they have home-ice advantage in the series based on their two-point advantage over the Oilers in the regular season.

The Ducks are led by Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell and Shea Theodore, who each scored five points in the victory over the Flames.

The Ducks are minus-130 favorites in the series, and if they are going to overcome years of frustration in the playoffs since bringing home their only Stanley Cup in 2007, goaltender John Gibson is going to have to be at his best to slow down the speedy Edmonton offense. The Oilers are plus-110 underdogs.

The Eastern Conference playoffs get underway Thursday night with the New York Rangers meeting the Ottawa Senators, and the Pittsburgh Penguins playing the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals.

Even though the Sens have home-ice advantage, the Rangers are minus-160 favorites in the series.

Ottawa should be able to play the "no-respect" card as plus-140 underdogs to the hilt. The Senators were also underdogs in their first-round series against the Boston Bruins, and they won that in six games, including three overtime victories and a 3-0 record on the road in the series.

Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist knows Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson can be the difference maker in this series.

"You can't stop him, you just have to be really good," Lundqvist said, per Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. "He's definitely one of the best players, he plays a big part in their success. Good skater, sees the game really well."

The defending champion Penguins feature Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, while the Caps will fire back with Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom. The Penguins defeated the Caps during last year's Stanley Cup run, and the hatred between these two teams is usually a big factor whenever they meet.

The revenge factor is huge for Ovechkin and Washington, since the high-scoring Russian superstar has lost both of his postseason confrontations with Crosby and the Penguins.

The Caps are slight minus-120 favorites over the Penguins (Even).

OddsShark has the Caps as favorites to win the Stanley Cup at plus-350, followed by the Penguins at plus-425. The Ducks and Oilers are both plus-550, while the Senators are the outsiders at plus-1,000.

---

Get the best sports content from the web and social in the new B/R app. Get the app and get the game.