NHL Playoff Schedule 2018: Round-by-Round Bracket, Dates and Guide

Compared to past years, the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs have been relatively tame.

Of the eight first-round series, four went past Game 5 and only one made it as far as Game 7.

The Eastern Conference has been far more competitive, with one of its four series ending after five games, while most of the second-round participants in the Western Conference were determined a week ago.

The second-round dates aren't set yet, but the three matchups in place are intriguing with a rematch in the East and four franchises in the West hunting for their first Stanley Cup.

Wednesday's Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs determines the eighth team to move on to the second round, which begins later this week.

Round-by-Round Dates

1st Round

Wednesday, April 25

Game 7: Toronto at Boston (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN)

2nd Round

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals (Start date TBD)

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston/Toronto winner (Start date TBD)

Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks (Start date TBD)

Nashville Predators vs. Winnipeg Jets (Start date TBD)

Conference Finals

Pittsburgh/Washington winner vs. Tampa Bay vs. Boston/Toronto winner (Start date TBD)

Vegas/San Jose winner vs. Nashville/Winnipeg winner (Start date TBD)

Stanley Cup Final

Eastern Conference champion vs. Western Conference champion (Start date TBD)

Guide

Bruins, Maple Leafs Set to Square Off in Game 7

The Maple Leafs forced the lone Game 7 of the first round Monday, as they defeated the Bruins 3-1 on home ice.

Boston struck first through Jake DeBrusk, but that was the only shot it got past Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen, who made 32 saves while his teammates fired three straight tallies into the net against Boston's Tuukka Rask.

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

The Bruins won the first two games at TD Garden, but they let the Leafs creep back into the series in Game 5 before head coach Mike Babcock's team leveled it at three games apiece in Game 6.

Now, the Bruins are in danger of blowing a 3-1 lead to a hungry Maple Leafs team carrying plenty of belief within it at the moment.

The biggest concern for the Bruins is the play of their top scorers. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are a combined minus-16 in the three losses, per NBC Sports Boston's Joe Haggerty:

Toronto enters TD Garden for the final time this season with plenty of confidence despite being a young squad.

Mitch Marner, who scored the game-winning goal in Game 6, noted after the game the no-quit mentality of the locker room, per TSN's Mark Masters:

Toronto is playing with less pressure on its shoulders, and it's shown over the last two games, while the goals have dried up for the Bruins following a fantastic end to the regular season in which they almost clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the East.

Expect Marner, who leads Toronto with eight points in the series, to once again be active in the attacking zone, while the Bruins are relying on Pastrnak, Marchand and Torey Krug, who combined for 26 points through six games.

When it comes to the goalies, Andersen is the hot hand, as he conceded four goals compared to Rask's seven over the last two games.

Both players carry at least 40 games of playoff experience into Game 7, which means both are capable of being the X-factor for their respective teams by putting together an otherworldly performance.

Remaining Western Conference Teams in Search of 1st Stanley Cup

For the third time in playoff history since the 1974-75 season, the four participants left in a conference are going after their first Stanley Cup, per NHL Public Relations on Twitter:

In 1984, the Edmonton Oilers emerged from the quartet as Stanley Cup champion, while the Los Angeles Kings earned the same achievement in 2012.

The San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators came close in the last two years, but they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

The Vegas Golden Knights are in the conference semifinals in they're first year of existence, while the Winnipeg Jets won their first playoff series in franchise history. The former iteration of the Jets, now the Arizona Coyotes, won a pair of postseason series before departing Manitoba.

The Golden Knights are the darling of the NHL after finding success in their inaugural regular-season campaign and following it up with a sweep of the Kings.

Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

However, the results won't be as easy to come by in the second round against the Sharks, who themselves swept the Anaheim Ducks.

Vegas won three of the four regular-season meetings with its Pacific Division rival, with the Sharks taking the third of the four games in overtime March 22.

Over in the Central Division, the Nashville won the regular-season series over Winnipeg 3-2 in a collection of games that featured 42 goals.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Austin Watson and Filip Forsberg, who both scored four goals against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round, combined for a single tally versus Winnipeg in the regular season.

Winnipeg's top scorer in the first round was Mark Scheifele, who had two goals and two assists in four contests against the Minnesota Wild.

While neither team's stars have been dominant against each other, there's plenty of opportunity for them to use the momentum gained from first-round victories to become the difference makers in the second round.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from NHL.com and Hockey Reference.