NHL Playoffs 2018: Latest Stanley Cup Predictions and Schedule Info

With four loaded matchups, the second round of the NHL playoffs has been as good as advertised thus far.

It is rare that a second round features eight teams that all have a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup, but that is what we have in 2018.

As a result, it should come as no surprise that each series has been historically close through the early portion of the matchups, per the NHL:

"

With the TBL-BOS series tied at one game apiece, all four Second Round matchups were tied 1-1 after Game 2.

It is the fourth postseason since 1975, when the playoffs first saw 4 second-round matchups played, that this has occurred (1991, 1986 and 1984). #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/FVkQKR58sm

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 1, 2018"

There is still plenty more hockey left as the schedule unfolds for each club in a round that seems destined for multiple Game 7s.

Tampa Bay vs. Boston Schedule (Series Tied 1-1)

Game 3: Tampa Bay at Boston, Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Game 4: Tampa Bay at Boston, Friday at 7 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Game 5: Boston at Tampa Bay, Sunday at 3 p.m. ET (NBC)

*Game 6: Tampa Bay at Boston, Tuesday at TBD (NBCSN)

*Game 7: Boston at Tampa Bay, Thursday, May 10, at TBD (NBCSN)

Washington vs. Pittsburgh Schedule (WSH Leads 2-1)

Game 4: Washington at Pittsburgh, Thursday at 7 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Game 5: Pittsburgh at Washington, Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (NBC)

*Game 6: Washington at Pittsburgh, Monday at TBD (NBCSN)

*Game 7: Pittsburgh at Washington, Wednesday, May 9, at TBD (NBCSN)

Nashville vs. Winnipeg Schedule (WPG leads 2-1)

Game 4: Nashville at Winnipeg, Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Game 5: Winnipeg at Nashville, Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

*Game 6: Nashville at Winnipeg, Monday at TBD (NBCSN)

*Game 7: Winnipeg at Nashville, Thursday, May 10, at TBD (NBCSN)

Vegas vs. San Jose Schedule (VGS Leads 2-1)

Game 4: Vegas at San Jose, Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Game 5: San Jose at Vegas, Friday at 10 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

*Game 6: Vegas at San Jose, Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

*Game 7: San Jose at Vegas, Tuesday at TBD (NBCSN)

* if necessary

Lightning vs. Bruins 

Boston and Tampa Bay battled all season atop the Atlantic Division, with a Bruins loss to the Florida Panthers on the last day of the season making them the No. 2 seed in the division. So it comes as no surprise that these two met up in the second round of the playoffs. 

Despite having the lethal combination of 100-point scorer Nikita Kucherov with Steven Stamkos, arguably the best defenseman in hockey in Norris Trophy finalist Victor Hedman and Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, the Lightning have seen the Bruins carry play against them this season.

Boston was 3-1 against Tampa Bay in the regular season, and that dominance continued in Game 1 with a 6-2 thrashing on the road. Tuukka Rask has been sensational through two games, stopping 63 of 67 shots despite the Bruins having just 44 shots.

The catalyst for the Bruins has been the dynamic line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. All three are within the top six in NHL scoring this postseason, with Pastrnak second in the league with 18 points. However, when this line does not produce, Boston simply struggles to score, as 98.5 in Boston's Ty Anderson pointed out after the Game 1 win:

The trio did total four points in Game 2, but more production elsewhere is needed, as Boston lacks the secondary scoring and impact defensemen Tampa Bay has with guys such as Tyler Johnson, Ryan McDonagh and Brayden Point.

Still, the edge has to go to Boston right now. The Bruins are getting outstanding goaltending while their top line is scoring like crazy in contrast to Kucherov and Stamkos, who each have no points in the series.

The play of the Johnson-Ondrej Palat-Point line should help keep the Lightning afloat, but look for Boston to grind out another series win.

Bruins win series 4-2

Capitals vs. Penguins

Is this finally the year for the Capitals?

The Penguins are 9-1 all-time against the Capitals in the playoffs, including 4-0 in Game 7s. Pittsburgh has also beat Washington en route to all five of its Stanley Cups.

The Penguins simply have the Capitals' number, but this year could be different.

Washington is playing Pittsburgh stronger than ever before, at least in recent history. If not for a five-minute collapse in the third period of Game 1, the Capitals would have a commanding 3-0 series lead against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. 

Everything is rolling Washington's way, as Braden Holtby is locked in with a .913 save percentage on 80 shots and Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin are rolling with nine points combined. In fact, the Russian is scoring as hot as he has ever been, per ESPN's John Buccigross:

On the other side, Evgeni Malkin is banged up and did not play until Game 3, while Matt Murray has struggled since Game 1 with seven goals allowed on 53 shots. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel have combined for 36 points while no other Penguin has even reached double-digit scoring this postseason. 

Picking against the Penguins versus the Capitals during the playoffs is typically a losing man's game, but now seems to be as good of a time as ever for Washington to strike.

The Capitals have to exorcise their demons sometime, so why not now? As long as they can avoid a Game 7, look for them to advance.

Capitals win series 4-2

Predators vs. Jets

On paper, this looked like possibly the best series of the entire postseason, and it has not disappointed.

Winnipeg boasts the best top-six forward group in the league, led by Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, while Nashville sends out the best top-four defense the NHL has to offer in Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi and P.K. Subban. So far, these two colossal forces have managed to collide in epic fashion.

The Jets have managed to outscore the Predators 15-10 in three high-flying games. They are surprisingly outplaying a Nashville team fresh off a Stanley Cup Final appearance and Presidents' Trophy while being bolstered by a healthy top line and the addition of Kyle Turris. The fact is the Predators just can't slow down Winnipeg's offensive firepower.

Scheifele already has seven points in three games while Wheeler has six, and a role player such as Brandon Tanev has a goal in all three contests.

Even when Nashville takes control of a game, it can't put away the Jets. Scheifele scored late to force overtime in Game 1 before Winnipeg scored seven of the next eight goals after facing a 0-3 deficit in Game 3. 

While the Predators were dominant in Game 1 with 48 shots to Winnipeg's 19, they still lost because of Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck, who has been great this postseason with a 2.12 goals-against average.

Simply put, it seems Nashville does not have an answer for the Jets right now, while Winnipeg has responded to adversity at every opportunity. These are arguably the two best teams in hockey, so this should continue to be a back-and-forth series.

Yet, Winnipeg has shown a bit more so far to get the edge moving forward.

Jets win series 4-3

Golden Knights vs. Sharks

Want to find a Conn Smythe favorite? Look no further than Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Vegas goaltender is on a different level and playing the best hockey of his career, which is saying something for a three-time Stanley Cup winner.

He leads all goalies in wins (six), goals-against average (1.23) and save percentage (.960) as Vegas is off to a blistering 6-1 franchise start in the postseason.

He is playing with the type of confidence and poise that can carry a team to a Stanley Cup, with plays such as these serving as the perfect examples:

The Golden Knights are still playing well as a team, sticking to the team speed that helped them take the NHL by storm this season. They have also been opportunistic, averaging three goals per game while ranking sixth out of the remaining teams in shots per game.

That said, the Sharks are not going to go away easily.

They play a similar style of hockey as Vegas, but they have the star power to score goals in bunches with Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Evander Kane and Joe Pavelski.

Discounting the 7-0 rout by Vegas in Game 1, the Sharks have controlled play the last two games and are outshooting the Golden Knights 122-96 for the series.

However, the goaltending difference puts San Jose in a tough spot. Just when he seemed to be back on his game in the first-round sweep of the Anaheim Ducks, Martin Jones has been ravaged for 12 goals on 75 shots against Vegas. It continues a yearlong trend when inconsistency forced him to battle Aaron Dell for his starting job throughout the season.

This series will be a war until the end, but the Golden Knights have to be the favorite here while Fleury continues to play out of his mind.

Golden Knights win series 4-3

Statistics are courtesy of NHL.com unless otherwise noted.