Playoff seeding is still uncertain at this point, but if these four teams make the post-season, Adam Proteau thinks they'll be in for a rough ride.

Just making the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs is an achievement for teams. They’ve survived the 82-game regular-season battle, and earned the right to continue playing beyond mid-April. 

But that doesn’t mean their season will be seen as a success. For the most part, a first-round playoff exit – and worse still, a first-round playoff exit in four or five games – would be a massive letdown for many franchises.

That said, there’s going to be quite a few teams who suffer that fate. Which ones, you ask? Well, here are four playoff-bound (or playoffs-possible) teams we don’t see making much positive noise in the post-season.

1. Minnesota Wild

The Wild have solidified their hold on a playoff spot in the past month, going 13-1-3 since Feb. 15, the best record of any team in that time. 

All that winning got them into the second spot in the Central Division and tied in points with the Dallas Stars for first. But with two points separating them from third in the division, they’re probably going to be facing off with either the Stars or the defending Cup-champion Colorado Avalanche in Round 1. 

If you check out Minnesota’s past 17 games, you’ll see eight of their wins have come against non-playoff teams. Six of the Wild’s final 11 regular-season games are against current non-playoff teams, but their season record against Dallas is 2-2-0, and their record against Colorado is 0-2-0, with one game still to play against the Avs.

Minnesota has the NHL’s third-best defense averaging 2.65 goals against per game this season, but their offense is the league’s ninth-worst averaging 2.89 goals-for per game. They don’t have the depth of above-average talent up front that Colorado and Dallas have, and that ultimately could prove to be their downfall once the playoffs begin.

2. Florida Panthers

If the Panthers make the playoffs – and that’s still a big ‘if’ – they could finish eighth in the Eastern Conference. If that’s where they finish, their first-round series will be against the amazingly dominant Boston Bruins. 

Florida can take comfort in the fact they’ve been competitive against the Bruins – going 2-2-0 in their four games against Boston this year. But who’s kidding who – no team is going to be favored to win a series against the Bruins, let alone a team that just sneaks into the final wild-card berth.

The Panthers made it out of the first round last season, but only for the first time since the 1996 playoffs. They’re going to be hard-pressed to get out of the opening-round series, no matter who they square off against. 

Even if Florida earned the seventh-place spot in the East and secured the first wild card, they’d be taking on the Carolina Hurricanes or New Jersey Devils, and we don’t see the Panthers winning a seven-game series against either of those two teams, either. It feels like Florida is headed to a crossroads this summer, and their performance in the first round is likely to leave their fans feeling frustrated yet again.

3. Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers are 8-2-0 in their past 10 games, but they’re still only third in the Pacific Division. They are likely headed to a first-round showdown against either the second-place Los Angeles Kings or first-place Vegas Golden Knights, both of which we’d favor in a first-round series against Edmonton. 

The Oilers have won both games against Vegas this year (and the two teams still have two games to play against each other), and they’ve lost both games against the Kings (who they also still have two games against prior to the coming playoffs). Either way, Edmonton is going to have its defense challenged, and considering the Oilers have the 22nd-ranked defense (averaging 3.31 goals against per game) this year, they’ll have their work cut out for them in the first round.

We all know what dynamo Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can be on offense, but it’s Edmonton’s defense that likely will be the deciding factor whether or not they go on a deep playoff run. Ultimately, we just don’t see their goaltending tandem of Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell being good enough to deliver the team in front of them to playoff glory.

4. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets have been on an extended stumble since mid-February, going 6-10-2 since Feb. 15. That has pushed Winnipeg to the outskirts of the playoff picture in the West. Though they probably still have enough in the tank to avoid missing the post-season, they could wind up with the final wild card and a date with either Dallas, Vegas or Colorado. None of those matchups are favorable to the Jets.

Upsets are possible, of course, but Winnipeg doesn’t do anything to an intimidating degree. Unless star goalie Connor Hellebuyck steals games for them, the Jets are going to be first-round fodder and be another team at a crossroads this coming off-season.