Potential 2016 NHL Playoff Matchups We Can't Wait to See

The NHL regular season is winding toward its final days, and the playoff picture is coming into focus.

Here's what we know following the completion of games on April 3:

• The Washington Capitals are the runaway winners of the 2015-16 Presidents' Trophy. They'll hold home-ice advantage as long as they survive in the postseason.
• In the Western Conference, the playoff teams are basically set. The Colorado Avalanche are still mathematically able to challenge the Minnesota Wild for the second wild-card spot, but with five points to make up and only three games remaining, it's a long shot.
• The Eastern Conference picture is a bit murkier. The Boston Bruins are on the outside looking in, but with three games left to play, they could still knock the Detroit Red Wings out of third place in the Atlantic Division or go after a Metropolitan Division team in one of the wild-card spots.

As the playoffs draw nearer, it's easy to start imagining the matchups we'd like to see for the best dramatic effect.

Here's a look at what could unfold when the NHL postseason begins.

8. New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders

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Past Playoff History

The New York Rangers and New York Islanders have met eight times since the Islanders joined the NHL in 1972. 

The Islanders have won five of those series, but four of those triumphs came during their dynasty era in the early 1980s. As close as they are geographically, the two teams haven't met in the playoffs since the Rangers swept the Islanders in the first round on their way to the 1994 Stanley Cup.

2015-16 Season Series

The Islanders have won all three meetings to date against the Rangers this season, though the first win of the season came off a shootout goal by Kyle Okposo back in December.

The two teams will square off one more time this year—on Apr. 7 at Madison Square Garden.

What to Expect

If the Islanders and Rangers meet up in the forthcoming playoffs, it'll be a story of the emerging talents against the established veterans—a parallel to the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan that the teams call their homes.

It hasn't been completely smooth sailing on or off the ice for the Islanders in their first season at Barclays Center, but they've survived a late-season injury to goaltender Jaroslav Halak and will be looking to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

Will It Happen?

It's unlikely. The Rangers and Islanders are fighting each other for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Whichever team loses out will probably cross over to the Atlantic Division bracket, so any meetings with Metro rivals couldn't happen until the Eastern Conference Final.

The Rangers' late-season swoon has left both NYC teams looking at underdog rankings going into the playoffs. It would be surprising to see both of them get through to this year's final four.

7. Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

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Past Playoff History

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals have met eight times in the playoffs since Washington joined the NHL in 1974. Their most recent series came in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2009, when Pittsburgh powered through to a Stanley Cup championship.

The Penguins have won seven of the eight playoff meetings. Washington's lone victory came in the first round in 1994 before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the eventual champion New York Rangers.

2015-16 Season Series

In four games so far, the Penguins and Capitals have split their season series, with each team winning once at home and once on the road. The rubber match comes on Apr. 7, when the Pens travel to Verizon Center.

What to Expect

Crosby vs. Ovechkin.

It's a narrative that has been with us for more than a decade but has lost luster in recent years as both superstars endured rough patches.

Coming into this year's playoffs, the rivalry could rekindle. Ovechkin's 45 goals put him on track to win his fourth consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy, though he's being chased by Patrick Kane and Jamie Benn.

Meanwhile, Crosby has led his Penguins' second-half resurgence. His 55 points in 42 games since January 1 have vaulted him to third place in the NHL scoring race and made the Penguins not just a team in the playoff mix but an unpredictable force to be reckoned with.

After a seven-year playoff break, it's a perfect time for these two superstars to go head-to-head and test themselves against each other once again.

Will It Happen?

It could—it looks like Washington and Pittsburgh will finish in first and second respectively in the Metropolitan Division. If both teams make the most of home-ice advantage and succeed in their first-round matchups, they'd meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

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Past Playoff History

Both Pennsylvania and 1967 expansion brothers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers have met six times in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Flyers hold a 4-2 series edge and won the most recent meeting—a wild six-game Eastern Conference quarterfinal in 2012.

2015-16 Season Series

The Penguins have won all three meetings to date between the two teams this season, most recently a 6-2 shellacking of Philadelphia on April 3. The Flyers and Penguins will meet one more time, in Philadelphia on April 9.

What to Expect

It's hard to say. The pinnacle of the Penguins-Flyers rivalry between 2008 and 2012 featured goal-scoring bonanzas and plenty of chippy play, but the current incarnations of both clubs are more subdued and cerebral—for now, at least.

Foes even turned friends and teammates when Sidney Crosby won a gold medal for Team Canada alongside Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn at the 2015 IIHF World Championships.

The star players have stuck around, but the supporting casts for both teams have changed significantly, which could cause a dip in the bad blood that once defined this rivalry. For the Flyers, only Giroux, Couturier, Schenn, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read remain from the 2012 playoff team. In Pittsburgh, you've got the injured Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury, as well as Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang.

Will It Happen?

Maybe in the second round. Sports Club Stats decrees that the Penguins have a 90 percent chance of finishing second in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers will almost certainly land in a wild-card spot if they make the playoffs.

Those odds probably set up the Penguins to take on the New York Rangers in the conference quarterfinals, while the Flyers would meet the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals.

If both teams survive, the Battle of Pennsylvania will recommence.

5. Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings

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Past Playoff History

The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings have met just once in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series was an epic seven-game affair in the 2014 Western Conference semifinals that saw the Kings come back from a 3-2 deficit on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.

2015-16 Season Series

The Ducks hold a 3-1 edge in the season series to date, with the Kings' only win coming in the teams' first meeting of the year—a 3-2 road victory on Jan. 7.

L.A. and Anaheim have one regular-season meeting still on the schedule, April 7 at Staples Center.

What to Expect

Since they hit bottom with a last-place finish in the old Pacific Division in 2011-12, the Anaheim Ducks have made steady postseason progress. They got knocked out in the first round by the Detroit Red Wings in 2013, reached the second round before being eliminated by the Kings in 2014 and made it all the way to the Western Conference Final last season before a seven-game loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Is the Stanley Cup Final in the Ducks' future this year? The Los Angeles Kings will have something to say about that if SoCal's two franchises meet up for another Freeway Series.

Will It Happen?

Not in the first round, but possibly in the second. A single point separates the Ducks and Kings, so it's likely one team will cross over to play the Nashville Predators in the first round while the other takes on the San Jose Sharks.

Both teams will stay in the Pacific Division portion of the bracket, so if they survive, they'll be lined up to face each other in the Western Conference semifinals.

4. Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks

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Past Playoff History

The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks have met three times in the playoffs since the Sharks joined the league in 1991. In the first round in 2011, San Jose beat L.A. in six games before advancing to the Western Conference Final before losing two consecutive seven-game heartbreakers in 2013 and 2014.

2015-16 Season Series

The Sharks hold the edge with three wins in the five-game series, including a 5-1 victory in a chippy season-opener back on Oct. 7 and a high-intensity 5-2 win on March 28.

The Kings' two wins both came in the Shark Tank—by a 4-1 score on Oct. 22 and off a Marian Gaborik overtime winner on Jan. 24.

What to Expect

Even in the regular season, these two teams play with plenty of fire when they face each other. There's no love lost between their fanbases, either.

Emotions will ratchet up on a game-by-game basis if the Kings and Sharks line up against each other again this spring.

Will It Happen?

It could. The Sharks will finish third, possibly second, in the Pacific Division, while the Kings are fighting with the Anaheim Ducks for first place.

If the Ducks triumph in their attempt to go from worst to first in the Pacific, that would set up a fasten-your-seatbelts third meeting in four seasons between the Sharks and Kings in the first round.

3. Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers

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Past Playoff History

Foes in the old Patrick Division, as well as today's Metropolitan Division, the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals have met nine times in the playoffs since Washington joined the NHL in 1974. 

The Rangers have won five times, including the three most recent matchups in the last four years, which all went to seven games. 

2015-16 Season Series

In five games this year, the Caps hold a slight edge. Washington and New York each won one game at home and on the road. Alex Ovechkin scored the overtime winner in a 4-3 Caps victory on Jan. 9th.

What to Expect

If history is any indication, another meeting between these two teams will be a tightly contested affair that will see the Rangers squeak through to advance in the seventh game.

This year might be different, though. As 2014-15 Presidents' Trophy winners, the Rangers have slipped down the Metro standings while the Capitals have become the NHL's new No. 1 regular-season team. For all their regular-season success, Washington's primary goal this year is to make a meaningful playoff statement for the first time in the history of the franchise.

Will It Happen?

If it does, it'll probably be in the second round. The Caps have locked up the top seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Rangers look like they're destined to finish in second or third place. If they both advance, they'll face off again for a spot in the Eastern Conference Final.

There's an outside chance the Rangers will drop into the first wild-card spot in the East, which would shift them over to the Atlantic Division bracket. If that happens, there wouldn't be any chance of the Rangers and Caps meeting unless both teams reach the Eastern Conference Final.

2. Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues

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Past Playoff History

The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues have met in the playoffs 11 times since the Blues joined the NHL in 1967. The Blackhawks have won eight of those series, including the teams' most recent postseason meeting in the 2014 Western Conference quarterfinals.

2015-16 Season Series

In four games this season, each team has won twice, but Chicago has collected six points out of a possible eight. The Blackhawks won their games outright, a 4-2 mid-November road win and a 2-0 shutout at home in January, while Vladimir Tarasenko gave the Blues a 6-5 overtime win in Chicago in early November and Kevin Shattenkirk scored the shootout winner in a 3-2 victory in St. Louis in March.

The two teams will finish off their season series at the United Center on April 7.

What to Expect

Situated just 300 miles apart, the bad blood between Chicago and St. Louis stretches across all sports.

The Blues and Blackhawks built up their rivalry when they met in the playoffs three times in four years during the early '90s. It has been renewed since the Blackhawks have risen to win three Stanley Cups in the last six years.

In 2014, the Blues took a 2-0 series lead in their first playoff meeting with Chicago in 12 years before the Blackhawks came back to win four straight games and advance. 

Another solid regular season wouldn't be enough to satisfy players, management or fans in St. Louis, but it looks like the Blues will need to find a way to dethrone the defending Stanley Cup Champions if they hope to go on a deep playoff run this season.

Will It Happen?

St. Louis sits second in the Central Division with 103 points, with the Blackhawks four points back in third. As things stand, these teams are on a collision course for another fiery first-round battle.

1. Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings

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Past Playoff History

The Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have met three times in the playoffs since the Kings joined the league in 1967. Chicago scored an easy 4-1 series victory in the 1974 quarterfinals, then edged out the Kings in five games on their way to the Stanley Cup in the 2013 Western Conference Final. L.A. returned the favor in a seven-game thriller in 2014.

2015-16 Season Series

The tide has turned in the Kings' direction as the regular season has unfolded. Chicago won the teams' first meeting 4-2 at the United Center in early November, then Marian Gaborik scored the 3-2 overtime winner back in Los Angeles later that month. In mid-March, Jonathan Quick picked up his fourth shutout of the season in a 5-0 road win for the Kings. 

What to Expect

The rivalry doesn't carry much weight in the regular season, but if Chicago and Los Angeles meet up again in the playoffs this year, watch out!

These two teams are the heavy hitters of the playoffs so far in this decade, and each has each crushed the other's dynasty dreams once already. In 2013, the reigning champion Kings were knocked out of playoff contention by the Blackhawks, then L.A. returned the favor one year later. 

Will It Happen?

The only chance for this to occur would be in the Western Conference Final. The Blackhawks nearly dropped into a wild-card spot during their March malaise, but they're guaranteed to finish second or third in the Central Division, according to Sport Club Stats. That'll keep them on the Central branch of the bracket while the Kings work their way out of the Pacific.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.