Sporting News' hockey experts , and predicted the final standings for the 2017-18 NHL season. The playoff seedingbelow was determined by the average finish for each team based on their combined projections.There are a great many variablesthat go into determining a Stanley Cup champion. Many ofthem are uncontrollable. Yes, talent reigns supreme, butmore than any sportfortune good or bad pure,unadulterated luck Eddie Jackson Jersey can swing a road trip in December or a series in June, almost all of whichis unpredictable.So it can become a fool's errand to try and predict in October which teamwill hoist the Cup in June.That didn't stop Sporting News' team of hockey experts from trying. Here's how we feel the season will play out, based on information at hand. And though we couldn't agree on a champion, consensus says the Penguins won't three-peat and the Cup will be returned to the Western Conference.MORE PICKS: | | | Eastern Conference playoffsTampa Bay Lightning (A1) vs.New York Rangers (WC1)What may turn out as Henrik Lundqvist's meets one of the NHL's most talented teams head on in the first round. The last time these teams met in the playoffs (2015), the Rangers fell victim to the "Triplets" and lost inGame 7 of the East finals. It's a significant first hurdle for the Cup-minded Lightning.MORE:Toronto Maple Leafs (A2) vs. Boston Bruins (A3)A golden opportunity awaits the Leafs to avenge their embarra sing 2012-13 playoff collapse. The Bruins were laughing that year, all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, but not much has gone their way since. Now the tables are turned. These two stories franchises are no strangers to colliding in the spring, though they did go 39 years between meetings.MORE: Pittsburgh Penguins (M1) vs. Montreal Canadiens(WC2)Arguably the best player in the world against arguably the best goalie in the world.It would marktheir first playoff meeting since 2009-10, the year Montreal ended Pittsburgh's title defense and last reached the conference finals.MORE: Walter Payton Jersey Washington Capitals (M2) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (M3)Barry Trotz and John Tortorellago head-to-head in a series between the last two coaches of the year, backed by their own Vezinawinners in net.It's unfortunate one of these teams would be out in the first round, a hardshipthe Jackets learnedlast year.This would mark the first playoff meeting between theseclubs.MORE: Western Conference playoffsNashville Predators (C1) vs. Minnesota Wild (WC1)The Predators and Wildnever before met head-to-head in the postseason, even though both have been frequent participants over the last decade. It would serve as a war of attrition between two of the NHL's deepest defense units, not to mention the Ryan Suter reunion storylines. Otherwise, there isn't much in the way oftension here.MORE: Dallas Stars (C2) vs. St. Louis Blues (C3)Ken Hitchcock gets his shot at revenge in his first season back in Dallas. He'll know not to underestimate former understudy Mike Yeo, who ironically had the Blues playing the NHL's best defensive hockey after Hitchcock's departure in 2016-17. These teams last met in the 2015-16 playoffs, when the Blues won a thrilling Game 7 to upsetthe Presidents' Trophy winners in the second round.MORE: Edmonton Oilers (P1) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (WC2)This could be one for the ages: Connor McDavid and his Oilers, hoping to dominate the West this year and for years to come, collide head on with the old guard. Either we'd see an electric series between some of the world's greatest players, or a sure-fire sign the Blackhawks' watch has ended. These teams last met in the 1991-92 playoffs.MORE: Anaheim Ducks (P2) vs. San Jose Sharks (P3)Although they've always played in the same division, there's Anthony Miller Jersey only one Ducks-Sharks playoff meeting on record in 2008-09. These West Cost rivals are running out of time to seize a Cup before their respective windows close. It could well mean the last playoff run for a few franchise cornerstones.MORE: Eastern Conference finalsCernyLightning over Penguins in six gamesThe Penguins will push it as far as they humanly can in a bid for a Threepeat, but the toll of all those big games played the past two-and-a-half years will wear them down just enough that a fresh -- and extremely talented -- Lightning team will slip past them and into the Stanley Cup Final. -- JCSchlagerLightning over Penguins in seven gamesThere's no denying the Penguins are the best team in hockey they're the champions two times running, after all. But for the first time in two years, the roster shows vital flaws, and it only takes one team to properly exploit them. The Lightning are that team in 2017-18, revenge for their East finals defeat two years earlier. BSSporerPenguins over Lightning in six gamesNothing sexy about this pick but, let's not overthink this. There's a reason the Penguins just won consecutive Stanley Cups, and it's because they have elite top-end skill mixed with lower salary guys that are super productive. Expect a huge year for Jake Guentzel playing with Sidney Crosby. The Penguins also ran through the East without Kris Letang, and a patchwork blue line. There's Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey so much to like in Pittsburgh, and until another in-conference team steps up, each of them has a major hole somewhere that Pittsburgh can expose. ESWestern Conference finalsCernyDucks over Wild in five gamesIt won't be an Tom Waddle Jersey easy road to reach the conference finals because the Ducks will first have to get by Connor McDavid and Co. in Edmonton, but once they do the Ducks are not going to let up and they will stifle the Wild in a low-scoring series. They reached the West Final twice in the past four years, but did not reach the Cup Final either time. This season, the Ducks will. JCSchlagerPredators over Oilers in six gamesConnor McDavid's magic can only go so far. Upon carrying the Oilers to the best record in the West, the wunderkind runs out of gas in the West finals thanks to the stifling defense of the defending conference champs. The Predators are motivated to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final and strike while the iron's still hot. BSSporerStars over Oilers in seven gamesFull disclosure: A week ago, I had Dallas in this spot. The Stars are going to surprise a ton of people this season. This is a team that finished atop the Western Conference in 2016 before losing in the second round of the playoffs without Tyler Seguin. Last season was a weird, bad year, but more consistency from John Klingberg, and the additions of Alexander Radulov and Ben Bishop are going to be huge. If the