The best tournament in sports is about to begin.

The 16-team field is set to compete for the Stanley Cup, the matchups are confirmed, and below you'll find the schedule for the first round of the playoffs (all times Eastern).

The party begins Wednesday.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Montreal Canadiens (A1) vs. New York Rangers (WC1)

Ottawa Senators (A2) vs. Boston Bruins (A3)

Metropolitan Division

Washington Capitals (M1) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (WC2)

Pittsburgh Penguins (M2) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (M3)

Western Conference

Central Division

Chicago Blackhawks (C1) vs. Nashville Predators (WC2)

Minnesota Wild (C2) vs. St. Louis Blues (C3)

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks (P1) vs. Calgary Flames (WC1)

Edmonton Oilers (P2) vs. San Jose Sharks (P3)

* If necessary

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Don't worry Colorado Avalanche fans, help is on the way.

After manufacturing the worst season in the shootout era, the Avs own the best chances at the top pick in June's draft. After the Avalanche, the Canucks are next in line, while Las Vegas is thrown in the mix with the third-best odds, tied with Arizona.

Here's a look at the rest of the odds for those outside the playoff picture:

This year's draft will take place June 23 in Chicago, while the lottery order will reportedly be determined April 29.

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Sidney Crosby added more hardware to his mantle Sunday, winning his second Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer with the conclusion of the 2016-17 regular sason.

The Pittsburgh captain had his feet up Sunday, sitting out the Penguins' season finale and finishing with 44 goals - the second-highest total of his career - in 75 games. Crosby won his first Richard Trophy in 2009-10, when he scored 51 goals, the first and only time he's hit the half-century mark. (Steven Stamkos also had 51 that season.)

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Toronto Maple Leafs super rookie Auston Matthews finished second to No. 87 with 40 goals. And ain't no shame in that.

Crosby shot 17.3 percent this season, which also ranks second-highest in his career. He was sniping at an otherworldly 19.9 percent in 2010-11, finishing with 32 goals in an injury-shortened 41-game season.

His 0.59 goals-per-game average led the league, his 30 even-strength goals ranked second to Matthews, and he scored the opening goal of a game 11 times - third to Matthews' 14 and Patrick Kane's 12.

It's been a remarkable year for Crosby. He won his first Conn Smythe Trophy and second Stanley Cup last June, and now adds another Richard Trophy before the Penguins' quest to repeat begins Wednesday.

Dominant like no other, you can argue Crosby's never been better.

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Century man.

Connor McDavid is your 2016-17 Art Ross Trophy winner. It's undoubtedly the first of many for the 20-year-old.

The Edmonton Oilers captain wrapped up his eventual Hart Trophy-winning season Sunday with two assists (his 30th multi-point game), and finished his second campaign in the league with 30 goals, a league-high 70 assists, and 100 points.

The helpers extended No. 97's point streak to 14 games, the longest by an Oiler since 1987-88, when a couple of guys named Mark Messier (14 games) and Wayne Gretzky (15 games) went on impressive runs.

McDavid finishes with 11 more points than Sidney Crosby - who didn't play in the Pittsburgh Penguins' season finale - and Patrick Kane. Both finished with 89 points.

The 2015 first overall pick is the Oilers. He, of course, led his club in every significant offensive category, and also finishes atop the NHL's points-per-game leaderboard, his 1.22 points per game besting Crosby's 1.19.

McDavid also led the league in even-strength points (71) and even-strength assists (45). Look - he had a mighty fine season. And the kid's only getting started.

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If you feared Sunday's game might be Jarome Iginla's last, you may be in luck.

The 39-year-old's season is officially done after an overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks - in which he became just the 34th player in NHL history to reach 1,300 points - but Iginla revealed he's interested in coming back come October.

Iginla joined the Kings on a deadline deal in search of competing for a Stanley Cup, something that will be on the top of his wish list if he's taking calls when unrestricted free agency opens July 1.

In 19 games with Los Angeles, Iginla netted nine points, and finished his season with 14 goals and 13 assists in time spent between the Kings and Avalanche.

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Let's go.

The NHL's playoff bracket is finally fully set. The Anaheim Ducks earned a point Sunday at home against the Los Angeles Kings, which means three things:

• The Ducks are Pacific Division champions for a fifth straight season
• Anaheim will meet the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs
• The Edmonton Oilers will face the San Jose Sharks in Round 1

The result is undoubtedly the one the Ducks wanted, since the Flames haven't won in Anaheim in 13 years. The Ducks also won the season series 4-1.

Instead of the first installment of the Battle of Alberta since 1991, the Oilers get the defending Western Conference champions in the Sharks. Edmonton has home ice, and won the season series 3-1-1.

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Jarome Iginla is adding to his already legendary numbers in what could possibly by the final game of his career.

During Sunday's Los Angeles Kings season finale, Iginla recorded an assist on a goal credited to Dustin Brown, thereby recording his 1,300th career point.

Iginla is set to turn 40 on July 1, the day he'll become an unrestricted free agent should he choose to return for at least one more season.

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Imagine it went in.

Connor McDavid tried to make No. 31 on the season extraordinary, going between the legs with his shot on a mini breakaway against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Edmonton Oilers captain and NHL's leading scorer was stopped by Richard Bachman, who is going to want to remember that one.

But McDavid, man, even when he's not scoring, he's making you sit back in amazement.

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Storybook.

In the final game of his NHL career, Hurricanes forward Bryan Bickell made no mistake on his shootout attempt versus Philadelphia, and was appropriately mobbed by teammates afterward.

Bickell, 31, recently announced he'd be retiring at the end of the season after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November.

The breakaway goal concludes a career that saw Bickell suit up in 395 games, recording 136 points in the process. He won the Stanley Cup three times as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.

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A loss to Columbus in the final game of the regular season has dimmed Toronto's playoff outlook considerably.

Whereas a single point would have set up a first-round series with the Ottawa Senators, the Maple Leafs will now go head-to-head with the Washington Capitals, who enter the postseason as the best team in the NHL and with the most serious of Stanley Cup aspirations.

It'll serve as a tough test for the young club, admits head coach Mike Babcock.

"We're going to find out what playoff hockey is in a hurry," Babcock said Sunday, per Mark Masters of TSN. "I'll do my best the next couple days to explain what's going to happen. They're not going to believe me."

Still, that Toronto is in this position after a 30th-place finish a year ago is wildly encouraging.

Babcock also lauded the addition of veteran Brian Boyle late in the season, without whom the Maple Leafs may not have advanced. His experience will be relied upon heavily for as long as this run lasts.

Toronto faces the possibility of beginning the playoffs without Nikita Zaitsev, but Babcock said he's not concerned about an upper-body injury that forced the defenseman to make an early exit Sunday.

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