Playoff Gauntlet: Who Claims the Cup?

The Avalanche lock up the West's top seed while the Hurricanes grab Metro supremacy, setting the stage for a brutal bracket where every matchup carries hidden traps only insiders see coming. Stars claw back from deficits to seal a first-round clash with the Wild, and wild-card spots hang by a thread with teams like Utah and Edmonton jockeying at 88 points. Front offices whisper about injury impacts, like Jalen Chatfield's lower-body hit, as the real playoff chess match begins now.