The 2017-18 NHL season is upon us, and while there's still months of hockey left to play, we're going to look at Double Shifted's playoff predictions. Western Conference The Blackhawks finish the season as the first seed in the Central for the second year in a row. The Wild, coming off a great season led by Ryan Suter, Zach Parise, and Joel Eriksson Ek, but the biggest hero is Devan Dubnyk. Dallas grabs the third seed narrowly, and ends up avoiding a first-round matchup against Edmonton. St. Louis gets the first wild-card spot and heads to Canada to face the Oilers in the first round. The Predators ride a late-season win streak into the second wild-card spot, with Patrik Laine and Mark Schiefle 's Winnipeg Jets close behind. Nashville heads to Chicago for a first-round matchup for the second year in the row against Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks. Edmonton, led by Connor McDavid, wins the Pacific division narrowly over the Anaheim Ducks. Arizona squeaks ...