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NHL Playoff Bracket 2018: Latest Schedule Details, TV Coverage and Picks

The collection of remaining contenders for the Stanley Cup isn't what you would've expected at the start of the NHL season.

Two-time defending champion Pittsburgh is out of the mix in the Eastern Conference, which allows Tampa Bay and Washington to fight it out for a return to the championship series.

Of the five teams still alive, Tampa Bay is the only team with a Stanley Cup, as it won back in 2004 behind Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

Washington's lone final appearance came in 1998, while Nashville is searching for a return after losing to Pittsburgh in 2017.