NHL Vibe Check: Which 1st-Round Matchups Are You Dying to See?

If there's one certainty about the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs, it's that the first-round matchups are going to be wild. Between the electric trade deadline and standings that change every night, there are so many fun possibilities.

We asked Twitter users for their most anticipated potential first-round matchups, and they did not disappoint.

The Battle of the Hudson River was the most popular response to this prompt by far. It's my selection as well, and who can blame us?

This rivalry has given us some of the best hockey moments of all time, like the 1994 Eastern Conference Final. You had Rangers captain Mark Messier calling game and making good on it with a hat trick to tie the series in Game 6, followed by double overtime in Game 7.

The Rangers went on to win the Cup that year, while the Devils followed up as champions in 1995. Tensions were still high in the following years as both teams were still relevant and met in the playoffs a few more times, but it was more of a simmer.

That is, until Sean Avery came along in 2007.

If you need a refresher on Avery vs. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, just Google the "Avery rule," which the NHL created following Avery's relentless antics that took this rivalry back up to scorching.

This rivalry runs deep for so many reasons pertaining to geography and history, but perhaps the most compelling is the congruent trajectory between both teams. The intensity has fizzled in and out in recent years as both teams have done the same, but the 2019 draft in which the Devils selected Jack Hughes first overall and the Rangers selected Kaapo Kakko second overall reinvigorated things.

Both teams are now relevant again, and there's a huge possibility of a first-round matchup. I'm obsessed with the idea for all of the past's magic, the present's trade deadline acquisitions and the future's possibilities.

Hughes has broken out this season with a career-high 37 goals and 81 points in 67 games. Kakko isn't quite there yet, but he has shown flashes of greatness with 13 goals and 34 points in 71 games. There are so many names on both teams just waiting to be etched into rivalry lore. I only wish this could be the Stanley Cup Final.

Several responses cited the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. X opponent, but at this point, it feels like it doesn't matter who they face in the first round. No opponent matters more than the Leafs vs. Fate. Or maybe it's the Leafs vs. themselves.

When I was covering him on the Carolina Hurricanes beat, head coach Rod Brind'Amour would always say that it doesn't matter who they play in the first round, they're going to have to face tough opponent after tough opponent to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

I sort of feel like the Leafs should not only be OK with any opponent they may face in the first round, but they should want to take on the toughest opponent in the field head-on.

Maybe testing fate this time around is the only way to escape the early-round knockouts they keep enduring.

With that said, it looks like they're most likely to face the Tampa Bay Lightning, a dynasty in its twilight. It's never easy going against a team that appears to always flip a switch and get into win-now mode at the most important times, but it would be poetic if the team that seems to do the opposite finally conquered the first round in this fashion.

After looking at the comments on this article, I'm aware that my "Islanders are a legitimate dark horse" take is not remotely popular. But the Islanders keep climbing, led by the key to their dark-horse potential: goaltender Ilya Sorokin.

Do I actually think the Islanders could take the Bruins in a seven-game series? No, particularly if it's a first-round matchup. The clinched Bruins' legs will still be fresh, while the Islanders will be battling for a playoff spot until the last game.

Would I love to see what would happen if Sorokin got to try? Absolutely.

It also feels like one of those situations that's so unfathomable that it might actually work. The hockey gods love to give a lucky bounce or two to a Cinderella story. We love the Stanley Cup playoffs because they're an event of inches.

As unlikely as the Islanders are to pull off a win against the historic Bruins in the first round, is it wrong to feel like Sorokin might give them hell and give the rest of us an entertaining first-round matchup?

It appears Jonathan Quick is doing just fine without the Los Angeles Kings. He has a 5-1-0 record and a .906 save percentage since joining the Vegas Golden Knights.

It also appears that the Kings are doing just fine without Quick, with seven wins in their last nine games, including lopsided scores like a recent 8-2 win over the Calgary Flames and a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

At this point, the Kings are only two points behind the Golden Knights in the Pacific. While the race to qualify for the playoffs isn't so tight in the West, the race for top seeding is. The Edmonton Oilers are only two points behind the Kings, while the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild are tied with the Oilers at 90 points leading the Central.

It's at least not a pipe dream that the Kings and Golden Knights will face each other in the first round, which would be wonderful. The Kings gave the Oilers a fight last season, and their young core has clearly been developing well ever since. Vegas is perhaps the most unlikeable chip-on-the-shoulder team ever thanks to salary-cap gymnastics and expansion team success, and it's hilarious to picture so many people reluctantly rooting for Quick's last hurrah—and maybe Jack Eichel's first hurrah—alone.

Whether this matchup comes in the first round or later in the playoffs, I simply demand it.

Most Buffalo Sabres fans likely still haven't gotten over 2006. You know, the most heartbreaking loss in a franchise full of heartbreaking losses—Game 7 vs. the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

Despite having four defensemen out of the lineup, the Sabres held a one-goal lead heading into the third period. But the Canes tied it up, and then Brian Campbell took a brutal puck-over-the-glass penalty. Brind'Amour capitalized, Justin Williams had the empty netter, and the Canes won 4-2 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Both teams then struggled to make the playoffs and stay relevant until 2018, when Brind'Amour became head coach of the Canes. They've qualified for the playoffs every year since.

The Canes have gone from Cinderella story to an opponent whom teams absolutely fear. The Sabres, who haven't made the playoffs since 2010-11, now feel like the Cinderella story for whom neutral teams are rooting.

Wouldn't this be a perfect stage for revenge?