The only definite promise to be found in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs is uncertainty.
Outside of Washington, a team which carries the weight of expectation given its position in the standings and franchise history, there isn't a club out there that doesn't have difficult questions to answer, even in the first round.
Pittsburgh is down its best defenceman, while San Jose could be without its top two centres. Chicago spreads its Cup-winning core thinner and thinner with each passing year. Minnesota and Columbus stumbled into the postseason. All of these contenders—as well as those we haven't named in this intro—carry differing mixes of strength and weakness.