NHL Playoff Bracket 2019: Latest Stanley Cup Championship Odds and Schedule

The first round of the NHL playoffs comes down to this—a Game 7 matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals in Washington on Wednesday night.

The winner of that game will win the first-round series and secure the final spot in the second round, where it will face the New York Islanders.

In the first round of the playoffs, there has been quite a bit of excitement, including both No. 1 seeds getting eliminated by the No. 8 seeds. The Tampa Bay Lightning were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Calgary Flames lost to the Colorado Avalanche in five games.

The excitement has continued in recent days. Most notably, the San Jose Sharks won back-to-back overtime contests in Games 6 and 7 to come back and eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights.

Here's everything you need to know about the current state of the NHL playoffs as the beginning of the second round nears.

Bracket

Eastern Conference

Columbus vs. Boston

N.Y. Islanders vs. Winner of Washington-Carolina series

Western Conference

Dallas vs. St. Louis

Colorado vs. San Jose

Stanley Cup Championship Odds

Boston 47-10
San Jose 11-2
N.Y. Islanders 13-2
St. Louis 13-2
Washington 15-2
Columbus 15-2
Colorado 19-2
Dallas 10-1
Carolina 22-1

Odds via OddsChecker

Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule Guide (All Times ET)

First Round

Wednesday, April 24

Game 7: Carolina at Washington, 7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network

Second Round

Thursday, April 25

Game 1: Columbus at Boston, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Network

Game 1: Dallas at St. Louis, 9:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network

Friday, April 26

Game 1: Colorado at San Jose, TBD

Rest of schedule still to be announced.

Bracket Breakdown

Three of the four division winners from the regular season have already been eliminated from the playoffs. In addition to the Lightning and Flames, the Nashville Predators also lost their first-round series, falling to the Dallas Stars in six games.

It's possible that none of the four division winners could make it to the second round if the Hurricanes upset the Capitals on the road Wednesday night.

Among the teams still in the postseason, the Boston Bruins had the most regular-season wins at 49. They'll look to avoid being upset in the second round by the Blue Jackets, who are the second wild card in the Eastern Conference despite having only two fewer regular-season wins than the Bruins.

The Avalanche had the fewest regular-season points among playoff teams with 90, but they'll look to build off the momentum from their first-round series victory over the Flames. They're playing the Sharks, who won't have much time to rest before Friday's series opener as they just won Game 7 of their first-round series against the Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

The St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars each won their first-round series in six games, and now the Central Division foes will go head-to-head in the second round.

The Islanders are the only team in the second round that doesn't know its next opponent. If it's the Capitals, then New York coach Barry Trotz will be going up against the team that he led to the Stanley Cup a season ago.

"If it happens to be Washington, then they're the opponent," Trotz said, according to the Washington Post's Scott Allen. "The bonds that I have with the people on the other side, that is undeniable when you win championships. ... That doesn't go away, but when you drop the puck, it does go away. It does. Yeah, there's things that you remember and all that, but trust me, I'm going to want to beat them as bad as they want to beat me."