NHL Playoffs 2018: Schedule and Latest Odds for Stanley Cup Bracket Picture

The Pittsburgh Penguins may yet have a difficult time with the Philadelphia Flyers, but they showed no signs that will be the case as they hammered their longtime rivals 7-0 on Wednesday in their NHL playoff opener.

Sidney Crosby scored a hat trick, while fellow superstar Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins.

The Penguins started the 2017-18 Stanley Cup playoffs in strong fashion, and so did the Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Five more playoff openers will be played Thursday. That includes the Presidents' Trophy-winning Nashville Predators, who will host the eighth-seeded Colorado Avalanche.

While that series would appear to be a mismatch since the Preds have so much depth and strong goaltending from Pekka Rinne, anything can happen in the playoffs. Nashville knows that as well as any team because the Predators made it all the way from the No. 2 wild-card spot to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

The Boston Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs in what could be the most evenly matched first-round series. The Bruins finished second in the Atlantic Division, and the Leafs finished third.

Boston is one of the strongest teams in the league, but the Leafs earned the edge in the regular-season series by winning three of four games between the Original Six rivals.

The Bruins have excellent veteran leadership from Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci and goalie Tuukka Rask and also boast an excellent group of young players. Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and Olympic star Ryan Donato have all made significant contributions this term.

The Maple Leafs may have more firepower than the Bruins in James van Riemsdyk, Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, Nazem Kadri and William Nylander, but Toronto does not defend as well as Boston, and that could be vital in this series.

Here's a link to the complete first-round schedule on NHL.com.

The Predators are favored to win the Stanley Cup, according to OddsShark. They are plus-350 to triumph, meaning a $100 bet will return $350. The Tampa Bay Lightning are the second choice at plus-500, while the Bruins are plus-650 and the third choice to win the title.

2017-18 Stanley Cup Odds

Nashville Predators, +350
Tampa Bay Lightning, +500
Boston Bruins, +650
Vegas Golden Knights, +700
Pittsburgh Penguins, +800
Winnipeg Jets, +850
Toronto Maple Leafs, +1,200
Washington Capitals, +1,200
Anaheim Ducks, +1,800
Los Angeles Kings, +2,200
Minnesota Wild, +2,500
San Jose Sharks, +3,000
Columbus Blue Jackets, +3,000
Philadelphia Flyers, +4,000
Colorado Avalanche, +4,000

As of April 11, per OddsShark.

Eastern Conference

Tampa Bay (1) vs. New Jersey (WC2): series tied 0-0

Boston (2) vs. Toronto (3): series tied 0-0

Washington (1) vs. Columbus (WC1): series tied 0-0

Pittsburgh (2) vs. Philadelphia (3): Pittsburgh leads 1-0

Western Conference

Nashville (1) vs. Colorado (WC2): series tied 0-0

Winnipeg (2) vs. Minnesota (3): Winnipeg leads 1-0

Vegas (1) vs. Los Angeles (WC1): Vegas leads 1-0

Anaheim (2) vs. San Jose (3): series tied 0-0