NHL Playoff Picture 2018: Full Postseason Bracket, Odds and Predictions

The first-round matchups of the Stanley Cup playoffs are one step away from being set.

The Boston Bruins have an opportunity to clinch home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference with a win over the Florida Panthers Sunday night.

Sunday's Bruins result determines the order of finish in the Atlantic Division and the opponent for the New Jersey Devils, who face the Atlantic champion as the second-best wild-card team.

Over in the Western Conference, the intrigue is building with all-Central Division and all-Pacific Division halves of the bracket.

Nashville possesses home ice in the West, but Winnipeg and Vegas are going to be dangerous after successful regular seasons.

Postseason Bracket

Eastern Conference

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

Atlantic No. 2 Tampa Bay or Boston vs. Atlantic No. 3 Toronto

Metropolitan No. 1 Washington vs. Wild Card No. 1 Columbus

Metropolitan No. 2 Pittsburgh vs. Metropolitan No. 3 Philadelphia

Western Conference

Central No. 1 Nashville vs. Wild Card No. 2 Colorado

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

Pacific No. 1 Vegas vs. Wild Card No. 1 Los Angeles

Pacific No. 2 Anaheim vs. Pacific No. 3 San Jose

Odds (via OddsShark)

Tampa Bay (+600; bet $100 to win $600)

Vegas (+600)

Nashville (+700)

Pittsburgh (+700)

Boston (+800)

Winnipeg (+1100)

Toronto (+1100)

Washington (+1400)

Anaheim (+1800)

Minnesota (+2800)

San Jose (+2800)

Philadelphia (+2800)

Los Angeles (+3300)

New Jersey (+4000)

Columbus (+5000)

Colorado (+6600)

Predictions

Washington Avoids Playoff Curse in Opening Round

Given their recent playoff failures, the Washington Capitals usually turn into the laughing stock of NHL fans this time of year.

However, the Metropolitan Division champion won't suffer playoff heartbreak in the first round against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In fact, the Capitals should enjoy plenty of success in the opening-round series against their divisional foe.

Washington won three of its four regular-season meetings with the Blue Jackets, with the most recent victory coming February 9, which finished off a sweep of a home-and-away series.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

With Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom leading the charge, the Capitals should move on to the second round with little difficulty.

In addition to the three-headed forward monster, the Capitals have one of the league's top offensive-minded defensmen in John Carlson plus depth to back up their three stars.

T.J. Oshie, Lars Eller and Tom Wilson combined for 50 goals and 70 assists in regular-season play, which is an impressive feat with three dominant forwards at the top of the scoring chart.

As long as the Caps receive steady play in net from Braden Holtby, they'll avoid embarrassment and move on to a potential showdown with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Winnipeg-Minnesota Will Be the Best 1st-Round Series

With the Predators receiving a ton of attention at the top of the Central Division, the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild flew under the radar a bit in the regular season.

The Jets finished on a five-game winning streak that put them three points behind the Predators in the Central Division, while the Wild closed with a 6-3 victory over San Jose.

Both teams have the firepower to make the first-round series a thrilling affair, as there are five players with more than 50 points on each roster.

Winnipeg is led by Blake Wheeler, who had 68 assists, and 44-goal scorer Patrick Laine, while the Wild possess 42-goal scorer Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund, who recorded 21 goals and 46 assists, at the top of their attack.

Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press

The Jets appear to hold an advantage entering the series, as they are 9-1-0 in their last 10 games and boast a Western Conference-best 32-7-2 home record.

However, the Wild aren't terrible on the road, as they picked up 18 wins on their travels to add to their 27 victories at home.

Winnipeg won three of the four regular-season meetings, including a 7-2 triumph November 27, but the two sides met once since the new year, a game won by the Wild on January 13.

The difference-maker in the series could be Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck, who picked up 44 wins with a 2.36 goals-against average and 92.4 save percentage.

In three of his last four games, Hellebuyck held opponents to one goal, with five from Ottawa Monday being the outlier.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from NHL.com.