The maneuvering and the positioning is over as the NHL regular season has finally come to an end, and the Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin.The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Los Angeles Kings in one of the final two games Sunday night, and that allowed Anaheim to clinch the Pacific Division title over the Edmonton Oilers.That first-place finish means the Ducks will host the Calgary Flames in the first round of the of NHL playoffs, while the second-place Oilers will have home-ice advantage in their series with the San Jose Sharks.The Toronto Maple Leafs had a 2-0 advantage over the Columbus Blue Jackets in their season finale, and if they had held onto that lead at home, they would have gained third place in the Atlantic Division.Instead, the Blue Jackets roared back with three goals later in the second period and held on for the victory in the third. That loss meant the Leafs had slipped to the No. 2 wild-card position and must play the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in the opening round.The Boston Bruins were the benefactors of the Leafs' generosity, as they maintained the third spot in the division and will face the Ottawa Senators in the first round.The Bruins had been beaten 3-1 by the Caps in their season finale and did not win a game against Washington all season. However, it did not go much better for head coach Bruce Cassidy's team against Ottawa, as the Bruins went 0-3-1 against the Senators.The playoffs get underway Wednesday with five games, and all series are best-of-seven formats. Those matchups include theNew York Rangers at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET), the Boston Bruins at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET), the Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30 p.m. ET), the St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild (9:30 p.m. ET) and the San Jose Sharks at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET).The Capitals will get underway Thursday night at home against the Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET. The other two series starting Thursday include the Nashville Predators at the Chicago Blackhawks at 8 p.m. and the Calgary Flames at the Anaheim Ducks at 10:30 p.m. ET. Here's a look at the full first-round schedule, including all television broadcasts, courtesy of NHL.com.The Blackhawks will have home-ice advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs, and they are favored to win the Stanley Cup. Head coach Joel Quenneville's team is plus-450 to hoist the Stanley Cup according to OddsShark, meaning a $100 wager on Chicago will return the original bet and a $450 profit.The Capitals are the second choice at plus-550, followed by the defending champion Penguins and the Wild both plus-800.The Predators, Blues, Maple Leafs and Bruins are the outsiders at plus-2,800.The Montreal-New York Rangers series should be among the most compelling of the first-round matchups.The Canadiens have held first place in the Atlantic Division most of the season, but the Habs were slumping in late January and early February. General manager Marc Bergevin fired head coach Michel Therrien and replaced him with Claude Julien, who had been fired 10 days earlier by the Boston Bruins after spending 10 years with that team.Julien steadied the ship by focusing on his team's defensive coverages, and the Canadiens were able to win the division.The Rangers had the misfortune of playing in the Metropolitan Division because they could not overcome the Capitals, Penguins or Blue Jackets. The Rangers finished as the No. 1 wild-card team with 102 points, just one point fewer than the Habs.This matchup features two of the best goaltenders in the league, in Montreal's Carey Price and New York's Henrik Lundqvist.Price finished the regular season with a 37-20-5 record, had a 2.23 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. Lundqvist did not have his best season and was troubled by injuries, but he finished with a 31-20-4 record, a 2.74 GAA and a .910 save percentage.The Rangers may have the advantage up front because the Canadiens have not been happy with their production at the center position.Alex Galchenyuk is probably the most talented of Montreal pivots and produced 17 goals and 27 assists, but his performance has been inconsistent. Paul Byron, Andrew Shaw and Tomas Plekanec are fairly ordinary at the position. The key for Montreal's offense is the performance of leading scorer Max Pacioretty, who finished the regular season with 35 goals and 32 assists.The Rangers are balanced on offense with Mats Zuccarello leading the way with 59 points followed by J.T. Miller and Derek Stepan with 56 and 55 points, respectively. Chris Kreider led the Rangers in goals with 28, and Michael Grabner was second with 27."Come [Monday] morning, what happened so far for each and every player, the page is turned," coach Alain Vigneault said, per Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. "Everybody has a clean slate."The Western Conference series between the Oilers and Sharks could also be compelling. The Oilers have returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2006, and Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid (100 points) will have a chance to show off his remarkable speed and talent.However, the Oilers are not a one-man team, as McDavid has a first-rate running mate in Leon Draisaitl, who scored 29 goals and 48 points this season. Jordan Eberle added 51 points, while veteran power forward Milan Lucic was hot down the home stretch and finished with 50 points.Lucic, who won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011, is expected to show the young Oilers how to perform in the playoffs."I think we have enough experience in this locker room to handle it, to handle playoffs. I know I haven't played any (playoff) games but I still feel like I know what it's all about," said Jordan Eberle, per Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal.The Sharks made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs last year where they were beaten by the Penguins, but they struggled down the stretch by losing six of their final 10 games. Additionally, Joe Thornton (knee) and Logan Couture (mouth) have been slowed by injuries, and that could keep the Sharks from playing their best hockey.However, defenseman Brent Burns (76 points) is one of the leading Norris Trophy candidates, while Joe Pavelski added 68 points.
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