What My Ideal NHL First Round Playoff Matchups Look Like

There’s less than a month left in the NHL season, and the playoff race is really starting to heat up. So with that in mind, I’ve kind of been looking at potential playoff scenarios, what the bracket could look like, and what it’s probably going to look like.

I also played around with what my preferred first-round matchups would be. This will be based on the matchups, how the rest of the bracket could play out, and just how the atmosphere would feel. So overall, there’s a lot going into this. It’s a bit silly, but here is what my ideal first round looks like in the NHL playoffs, while also keeping it realistic based on the playoff chase right now.

Note: THESE ARE NOT PREDICTIONS

Eastern Conference:

Buffalo Sabres vs Columbus Blue Jackets

The Buffalo Sabres and the Columbus Blue Jackets have been two of the hottest teams in the new year, and I just feel like a playoff series between them would be fascinating. You’d be watching two arenas that haven’t experienced much playoff hockey over the past decade, with Buffalo not making it since 2011 and Columbus since 2019.

I just think it would be an incredible atmosphere in both arenas, watching these fan bases finally experience playoff hockey again. And not just that, the hockey itself should be great. Both teams have been led by high-powered offenses and organizational changes that helped spark these runs, whether it was the Sabres firing general manager Kevyn Adams in December or the Blue Jackets bringing in Rick Bowness in January.

Overall, both of these teams would put on a great show. The arenas would be electric, and we’d get a matchup between two of the best defensemen in the world in Rasmus Dahlin and Zach Werenski going at it. These are also two deep teams, and not to mention, we’d be guaranteed one of these historically mediocre, if not downright awful, franchises making it to the second round.

I just think it would be great for the NHL, so I’d love to see these two go at it.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins

I’m going to be honest, I’m a Montreal Canadiens fan. I really do not want to face the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Buffalo Sabres in the first round. So in this scenario, it would be Tampa Bay going up against the Boston Bruins.

I just think the Bruins match up better with the Lightning than the Habs do, and I think it would be a pretty good series as well. These two do have a history of facing off in the playoffs. I think it would be a battle between two great goaltenders in Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jeremy Swayman and a star-studded matchup between David Pastrnak and Nikita Kucherov.

I think Tampa would honestly make quick work of the Bruins, but I do think there could be a couple of games where Swayman steals one or two for Boston. Maybe in this divisional matchup, the Bruins could give the Lightning a bit of a harder time, especially in those home games where that building will be loud compared to Tampa.

I still think Tampa Bay wins the series, but it’s one I’d be interested in watching, and I could see the Bruins pushing it to six games.

Carolina Hurricanes vs Montreal Canadiens

As a Montreal Canadiens fan, I know that the Carolina Hurricanes have had our number for years. But this season, as of right now, the Habs have won both games against them, including a game on Tuesday night where they came back from two goals.

I also just think Carolina has the shakiest goaltending outside of Montreal when looking at playoff teams in the Eastern Conference, so I think this would be the best matchup. And I’m going to be honest, from a Canadiens fan perspective, this would mean falling into a wildcard spot, and I’d be okay with that if it specifically meant we were getting Carolina.

In terms of why this would be great for the NHL, you’re talking about two of the loudest buildings in the league come playoff time. With the Hurricanes, we know how rabid their fan base has become over the years, and with Montreal, we saw just last season how much the Bell Centre loves playoff hockey, how much they love the Canadiens, and how electric that building gets.

I just think this would be one of the best atmosphere-type series if the Canadiens and Hurricanes met in the postseason. So as a Habs fan, I would prefer this matchup over Buffalo or Tampa Bay, who would really be the only other options. And for the NHL overall, getting these two fan bases going at each other would be pretty fascinating.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders

And then for the final Eastern Conference matchup, I would like to see the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins both get into the playoffs.

It would be Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson finally getting back into the postseason after a couple of years of missing out and potentially going on one last run together.

On the other side, you’d have rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer in the postseason for the Islanders, a team I predicted would make the playoffs at the start of the year, while others thought they were in the middle of a rebuild and might trade off veterans. I thought this roster was pretty good on paper, and I expected them to be better than people thought.

And I feel like I’ve been proven somewhat right, because the Islanders have been one of the more fun teams to watch this year. They’re going through it a bit right now, but I still think they have good enough goaltending to get in. I also think they have enough firepower with guys like Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee, and Emil Heineman.

I just think they’re a fun team to watch, and a series between a legend like Sidney Crosby, who’s closer to the end of his career, and a young star like Schaefer just getting started would be really interesting. And then you also have Patrick Roy behind the bench for the Islanders, which just adds another layer to it.

Overall, I just think it would be a really cool series with some great storylines.

Western Conference:

Colorado Avalanche vs Los Angeles Kings

The Colorado Avalanche are winning their first-round series. It’s just a matter of who they’re beating.

At this point, the options are really only the Los Angeles Kings or the Nashville Predators. And while the Predators have been on a bit of a tear recently, I just think the Kings have a bit more offensive firepower with guys like Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe and others leading the way.

It could also be the last time we see Anze Kopitar lace up the skates, so I’d like to see him go out on one final playoff run.

Ultimately, I think Colorado is beating either Nashville or LA, since that’s who it looks like they’re going to face in the first round. I just prefer the Kings matchup. I don’t think Nashville has the firepower to keep up with Colorado. I think Colorado would probably sweep them, or maybe Nashville gets one game.

So yeah, I’d much rather see the Kings take on the Avalanche.

Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Wild

In a perfect world, the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild aren’t playing in the first round. These are two of probably the top four or five teams in the NHL, but because of this format, we’ve known for months that they’re going to be playing each other.

So it’s going to be a great series. It’s probably going the distance, and there’s a very real chance the winner of this series could end up winning the Stanley Cup.

But I can’t really say it’s my preferred option. It’s just going to happen. It’s going to be a great series, and I’m happy we’re getting it. I just wish it could’ve been later.

Anaheim Ducks vs Utah Mammoth

Based on the current playoff chase, it feels like this series is inevitable. The Utah Mammoths are pretty comfortably in the first wildcard spot, while the Anaheim Ducks have taken a significant lead for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Again, I don’t think this is a preferred playoff matchup for anyone, but I’ve talked myself into it over the past couple weeks as it’s become more and more likely.

I do think there are some interesting elements to it. It’s two teams that haven’t really been in the playoffs with these cores. It would also be the first time we get playoff hockey in Utah. The Ducks are a really fun young team to watch with guys like Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke. They also have veterans like Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider and brought in John Carlson at the trade deadline.

The Mammoth are kind of a sneaky team as well with Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, JJ Peterka, and Dylan Guenther.

I just think this would be a pretty cool series, and I’ve talked myself into it.

Edmonton Oilers vs Vegas Golden Knights

And then the last matchup, this one is fascinating based on how bad both of these teams have been for most of the season, and it feels like they’re just trying to limp into the playoffs. The Edmonton Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights.

I think they’ve been two of the more disappointing teams in the NHL this year. The Oilers, obviously coming off two straight years in the Stanley Cup Final, have not been good for the majority of the season. Leon Draisaitl is hurt now; their goaltending has been terrible for most of the year, and it’s felt like a Connor McDavid and Draisaitl carry job. This has been one of the weaker seasons of that era in terms of overall team production.

Then with Vegas, they brought in Mitch Marner last summer, and I expected them to be a true Stanley Cup contender, but it just hasn’t been the case. Their goaltending has also been poor; they haven’t been able to stay healthy, and they’ve struggled to score consistently.

So based on how disappointing both teams have been, I think one of them is going to have major changes in the offseason if they lose in the first round. And whoever wins this series is going to have to look at their season in a weird way, because I do think they’d be favoured against a team like Utah or Anaheim in the next round.

Which means somehow, some way, one of these teams could realistically end up in the Western Conference Final.

That’s kind of crazy.

So yeah, we could see McDavid against Jack Eichel again, which is cool. But overall, the idea that one of these teams could go from a pretty disappointing season to a conference finals run is just wild.