B/R NHL Roundtable: Playoff Matchups We're Desperate to See

Could we be seeing a preview of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals Wednesday night?

The NHL on TNT will be presenting a tantalizing doubleheader featuring the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers in the early game, followed by the Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights. All four teams are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders and could conceivably lift the Cup at the end of the playoffs.

A playoff series featuring any of these teams would be filled with offense. The Panthers, Hurricanes, Avs and Knights are among the top 10 teams in the league in goals per game. Excitement wouldn't be in short supply in any potential series.

We, the B/R NHL Staff, decided to call together another roundtable to explore some of the potential playoff matchups that get us giddy at the sheer thought of them happening. 

Share your thoughts in the comments section, and sound off on some of the playoff matchups you want to see during the 2022 postseason!

Avalanche vs. Golden Knights

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

NHL fans got their first taste of a postseason clash between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Avs jumped to a 2-0 lead, but the Golden Knights rallied to win the next four and take the series.

The Avalanche and Golden Knights were the league's top-two clubs last season, jockeying for first overall before the Avs took home the Presidents' Trophy with the best regular-season record. While the Avalanche are once again sitting first overall, the Golden Knights have dropped to 12th, though they hold first place in the Pacific Division.

Despite the Golden Knights' struggles (due in part to injuries to some key players), they still possess sufficient depth and leadership to rise to the occasion if they should face off again with the Avs, who would be seeking to avenge last spring's playoff disappointment.

Both clubs still have the bulk of their core players from last season. The Avs are powered by forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and defensemen Cale Makar and Devon Toews.

Blueliners Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore and forwards Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith lead the Golden Knights.

However, there are some notable differences this season. One of them is the starting goaltending for both clubs has changed. The Avs replaced Philipp Grubauer by bringing in Darcy Kuemper via trade, while Robin Lehner took over as the Golden Knights' full-time starter after Vegas traded Marc-Andre Fleury last summer to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche are getting a career-best performance from Nazem Kadri, who's on pace to exceed 100 points in his contract year. The mercurial center's eight-game suspension during last year's postseason was a contributing factor in his club's demise against Vegas. If he can keep his temper in check, he could make the difference in this rematch.

Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, however, could be the wild card. Acquired from the Buffalo Sabres last November, he's making his long-awaited debut with Vegas on Wednesday after recovering from neck surgery. The 25-year-old center is a highly-skilled offensive star, but this year would be the first time in his seven-year NHL career he'll get a taste of playoff action.

Another could be Stone's health. The Golden Knights captain was placed on long-term injury reserve for a lower-back injury that's plagued him throughout this season. The move cleared sufficient salary-cap space to activate Eichel but creates uncertainty over whether he'll be returning later this season or for the playoffs.

—Lyle Richardson

Lightning vs. Panthers

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

The road to the Stanley Cup will likely lead through Florida this season. For the Tampa Bay Lightning, it'll be business as usual as they attempt to win their third consecutive title—a remarkable accomplishment considering the salary cap is supposed to generate parity around the league.

There's a new elite team in the Sunshine State, however, as the Florida Panthers have emerged as an offensive juggernaut in 2021-22. Here's an organization that hasn't won a playoff round since 1996, and already lost to the Lightning in the first round a year ago.

These aren't the same Panthers that Tampa Bay knocked off last season, though. 

In 2020-21, Florida possessed the fourth-best offense in the NHL, scoring an average of 3.36 goals per contest. Not too shabby, but they weren't blowing the doors off of their competition via an aggressive, all-hands-on-deck attack either.

That's what they have been doing this season, as they have nearly been in a class of their own as far as scoring goals is concerned. They are one of two squads—the other being the aforementioned Avalanche—that are averaging more than four goals per game.

No single team in the cap era has finished the season scoring more than four goals per game, and it will be intriguing to see whether the Panthers can keep the pedal to the medal the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, the Lightning continues to be one of the most well-oiled machines in the league today. Their offense is nothing to scoff at, scoring the seventh-most goals on average, while their defense allows the ninth fewest.

This series would be chock full of star power too; the kind of entertainment value that can continue to help grow the game of hockey in Florida. According to ESPN, the Lightning are the most well-attended team in the league, while the Panthers, bafflingly, are 23rd.

From Aleksander Barkov to Jonathan Huberdeau to Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov, this matchup would have the potential to be a classic. All the ingredients are there: a geographical rivalry between two legit championship contenders looking to make their mark on the season.

—Franklin Steele

Capitals vs. Rangers

Fight Night at the Garden.

To fans of certain ages and genres, the phrase conjures instant images.

Two-thirds of the classic Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier rivalry.

Gerry Cooney's 54-second savagery of Ken Norton.

Or, if you prefer your rings of the wrestling variety, there's Bob Backlund and Jimmy Snuka in a cage.

But come springtime, the fights to watch will be on ice.

If the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals maintain their Eastern Conference playoff positioning for the season's final half, there's a decent chance the NHL's most recent bitter rivals will meet as many as seven times—including four in midtown Manhattan at the World's Most Famous Arena.

Lest anyone forget, the genesis of the new-school rivalry came in May, when Washington's notorious Tom Wilson pounded then-Ranger Pavel Buchnevich's head on the Garden ice in a net-side scrum—yielding a double minor, a misconduct and a $5,000 fine.

Two nights later, an old-fashioned line brawl broke out when the teams met in Washington.

It's been relatively tame in 2021-22—with 34 penalty minutes overall and a lone tripping minor for Wilson in the single game between the teams on October 13—but ratchet up the pressure with the specter of postseason elimination, and don't be surprised if the embers ignite once again.

But you know what, it's a pretty good hockey series too.

Alex Ovechkin chasing a second Cup alongside his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's goals record. A new-look version of the Broadway Blueshirts—with burgeoning quality at forward, defense and in goal—looking to end a title drought that's suddenly closing in on 28 years since Mark Messier's run as Messiah.

They are not the two best teams, and they are not the odds-on favorites.

But given the quantity of compelling storylines—melding both the beauty and brutality of the game—we dare you not to watch.

—Lyle Fitzsimmons