NHL playoffs: Previewing first-round matchups, picks and odds

The NHL playoffs begin Wednesday.

Here’s a look at all eight first-round series with start times and TV information, plus three things to know and odds courtesy of Parx.

Three things: The Lightning went an astounding 62-16-4 for 128 points, 21 more than any other team and 30 more than Columbus. Winning the President’s Trophy hasn’t translated to the postseason, however. Thirteen of the last 15 did not win the Stanley Cup, including eight who couldn’t get past the second round. ... Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov had 128 points (41 goals, 87 assists), the most since Mario Lemieux had 161 in 1995-96. Kucherov has an admirable 59 points in 62 career playoff games. ... Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is 5-12 with a 3.37 goals against average in his postseason career with Columbus, which has never won a playoff series.

Series odds (via Parx): Tampa Bay -400; Columbus +300

The pick: Tampa Bay in 5.

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Three things: Original Six playoff matchups are fun. This will be the 16th postseason series for these two. Boston has won the last five, a streak that stretches back 50 years and includes last season’s Bruins win in seven games. ... Bruins pest Brad Marchand notched his first triple-digit scoring season, finishing exactly with 100 points (36g, 64a). ... John Tavares scored a career-high 47 goals in his first season with Toronto. But he was signed to that 7-year, $77 million contract to get the Maple Leafs deep into the playoffs. He won one postseason series in nine seasons with the Islanders, missing the playoffs six times.

Series odds: Boston -143; Toronto +116

The pick: Toronto in 7.

Three things: Washington’s Braden Holtby is third all-time with a .929 postseason save percentage (behind only Tim Thomas and Jonas Hiller). He was not the Capitals starter when last year’s playoffs began, but relieved Philipp Grubauer after the Caps fell into an 0-2 hole against Columbus in the first round and led them all the way to the Stanley Cup title. ... The Capitals won all four meetings with Carolina this season, but two were by one goal and another was by two goals. ... First-year coach Rod Brind’Amour ended Carolina’s nine-year playoff drought, which had been the league’s longest. He’s almost surely going to use both of his goalies – Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek (remember him?) – during the series.

Series odds: Washington -148; Carolina +120.

The pick: Washington in 6.

Three things: The Islanders will play their home games in this series at the weathered Nassau Coliseum. Their home games would switch to the Barclays Center if they advance beyond the first round. ... Barry Trotz, who coached the Capitals to last year’s championship, transformed the Islanders from the most porous defensive team last season to the league’s stingiest. The Islanders gave up 100 fewer goals this season. ... “It starts with Sid,” Trotz said of playing the Penguins. Pittsburgh and New York split four meetings. Sidney Crosby had five points and was plus-4.

Series odds: Pittsburgh -139; N.Y. Islanders +115.

The pick: N.Y. Islanders in 7.

Three things: Viktor Arvidsson set a team record with 34 goals, and the Predators won the division by finishing 8-2-1 to edge Winnipeg and avoid scorching-hot St. Louis in the first round. ... Wayne Simmonds had just one goal in 17 games for the Predators. He saw less than 10 minutes in three of the last four he played. ... Dallas went 24-16-4 after CEO Jim Lites ripped into star players Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn in late December.

Series odds: Nashville -182; Dallas +147.

The pick: Dallas in 7.

Three things: Each team had 99 points, but Winnipeg has home-ice based on more wins. .... The Blues were dead last in the NHL on Jan. 3, but closed on a 30-10-5 roll. “The last couple months, we’ve been getting ourselves ready,” forward Alex Steen said. “We’ve been pretty dialed in on what we want to do.” ... Rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington went 24-5-1 with a 1.89 GAA. Whoa.

Series odds: St. Louis -121; Winnipeg -103.

The pick: St. Louis in 6.

Three things: The Flames, who missed the playoffs last season, improved by 23 points and won their first division title in 13 years. ... Johnny Gaudreau had a career year with 99 points and eight game-winners. He also played all 82 games for the first time and averaged a personal best of 20+ minutes per. ... Colorado will get a boost with the return of All-Star Mikko Rantanen, who missed the last two weeks with a lower-body injury. Only Nate MacKinnon (99) had more points for the Avs than Rantanen (87).

Series odds: Calgary -230; Colorado +180.

The pick: Calgary in 7.

Three things: Had to read this twice, but it checks out. The Sharks were 0-18-2 when they failed to score at least three goals. ... San Jose goalie Martin Jones had a career-worst .896 save percentage this season. He led the Sharks to the Finals in 2016, so there’s confidence he can turn it around here. ... Vegas is 11-6-2 since acquiring solid two-way forward Mark Stone from Ottawa.

Series odds: San Jose -117; Vegas -106.

The pick: San Jose in 6.