NHL Playoff Picture 2018: Latest Postseason Bracket, Predictions and More

The home stretch of the NHL regular season is expected to produce a good amount of drama, with the wild-card races in both conferences coming down to the wire.

Barring a collapse between now and the end of the regular season, the four division winners appear to be in place, with most of the second-place franchises secure as well.

The races to watch over the next few weeks involve the up-and-down nature of the third-place teams in each division and the teams clawing for the two available wild-card positions in each conference.

In the NHL playoff format, the division winner with the most points in each conference faces the wild-card team with the worst record in the first round, while the other division champion faces the best wild-card squad.

The teams placed second and third in each division play each other in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Below is a look at where the brackets stand entering Wednesday's action.

Latest Postseason Bracket

Eastern Conference

Atlantic No. 1 Tampa Bay vs. Wild-Card No. 2 New Jersey

Atlantic No. 2 Boston vs. Atlantic No. 3 Toronto

Metropolitan No. 1 Washington vs. Wild-Card No. 1 Philadelphia

Metropolitan No. 2 Pittsburgh vs. Metropolitan No. 3 Columbus

Western Conference

Central No. 1 Nashville vs. Wild-Card No. 2 Anaheim

Central No. 2 Winnipeg vs. Central No. 3 Minnesota

Pacific No. 1 Vegas vs. Wild-Card No. 1 Colorado

Pacific No. 2 San Jose vs. Pacific No. 3 Los Angeles

Predictions

Columbus Causes All Sorts of Problems For Playoff Opponent

The Columbus Blue Jackets are the hottest team in the NHL, as they've reeled off nine consecutive victories to move out of the wild-card race and into third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Even though Columbus has rolled of late, it needs to keep winning in order to remain in playoff position.

The Blue Jackets face a key showdown in the playoff race against the Florida Panthers on Thursday that could go a long way in determining the final two playoff teams in the East.

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

If Columbus beats Florida, it keeps the Blue Jackets in the top-three positions of the Metropolitan and takes away part of the Panthers' advantage, as they have at least two games in hand on Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils above them in the wild-card race.

Regardless of what happens Thursday, Columbus has proved it's going to be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason, but its opponent still needs to be determined.

If the Blue Jackets keep on winning, they'll set up a clash with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan portion of the East bracket.

However, if the winning streak comes to an end, the Blue Jackets could end up taking on either the Washington Capitals or Tampa Bay Lightning.

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Since the start of the nine-game winning streak, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 or more shots in four victories.

The strong performances in net are key for the confidence of the experienced netminder, who has a career postseason goals against average of 3.63.

Artemi Panarin leads a dangerous attack that has 33 goals over the last nine games. During the current run, the 26-year-old contributed at least a goal or assist in eight contests.

With an offense that no one appears to be able to stop at the moment, the Blue Jackets should carry a wave of momentum into the postseason that's going to be hard to contain, even if they take on one of the sport's top franchises.

Colorado, Dallas Survive Western Conference Wild-Card Race

The top-two teams in the Central and Pacific Divisions are happy they don't have to deal with the mess that is the Western Conference wild-card race. 

For neutrals, the competition for the final two places in the West playoff field is going to be amazing to watch. 

But for the teams participating in the mad dash for the final two third-place divisional spots and the pair of wild-card berths, the next few weeks are going to be a thrill ride. 

There are five teams within eight points of each other in the wild-card race, with the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings barely comfortable in third place of their respective divisions.

If Minnesota and Los Angeles remain in their current positions, the race for the wild-card spots is between the Colorado Avalanche, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames.

Looking at the wild-card standings, Colorado and Dallas have the advantage in goal differential, and they possess the two most dangerous offenses in terms of goals scored.

Colorado should put itself in good position to secure a playoff berth with four of its next five games at home, starting with a showdown against the Kings Thursday.

David Banks/Associated Press

The Avalanche have the best home record of the wild-card contenders at 25-9-2, and there's a chance they'll move into the Central Division playoff spaces if the Wild falters during that stretch.

Despite going 2-5-3 in their last 10 games, the Stars are poised to bounce back thanks to a similar home stretch that begins with a visit from the Boston Bruins Friday.

Dallas carries a 24-10-3 record in its own building into the most important homestand of the season, and if it bounces back from the struggles of its recent six-game road swing, it should overpower the Ducks, an occurrence that could happen sooner rather than later if Anaheim loses in Calgary Wednesday.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from NHL.com.