Intriguing matchups that could be seen in 2022 NHL Playoffs

With the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs set to start in May, there are plenty of intriguing matchups on the table that fans could see if the cards are aligned correctly. The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to three-peat. Teams like the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche are trying to prove that they can win at the big stage in the playoffs, and the Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers are trying to prove they are no longer middle-of-the-pack teams.

There would be plenty of intriguing matchups if the playoffs started today, and the matchups are listed below.

Eastern Conference:
1 Florida Panthers vs WC 2 Washington Capitals
2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs 3 Tampa Bay Lightning
1 Carolina Hurricanes vs WC 1 Boston Bruins
2 New York Rangers vs 3 Pittsburgh Penguins

Western Conference:
1 Colorado Avalanche vs WC 2 Dallas Stars
2 Minnesota Wild vs 3 St. Louis Blues
1 Calgary Flames vs WC 1 Nashville Predators
2 Los Angeles Kings vs 3 Edmonton Oilers

These current seedings do provide some intriguing matchups, but there could be even crazier matchups further down the road in the playoffs.

Rangers vs Caps (AKA Ryan Reaves vs Tom Wilson):

This matchup would be crazy in theory. Two of the league's most physical players going head to head for seven games. On top of this you would also have two of the best Russian NHLers Alex Ovechkin and Artemi Panarin matching up for what would be a super entertaining matchup.

Wild vs Avalanche:
Although this matchup has only happened three times in NHL playoff history, there is plenty of bad blood between the two teams. The two teams recently played, a 3-2 OT win for the Wild, and it seemed that Nathan MacKinnon would be out for an extended period of time after fighting Mathew Dumba. On top of this, the two teams even made a one-for-one trade at the deadline sending Nico Sturm to Colorado and Tyson Jost to Minnesota.

Flames vs Oilers:
The Battle of Alberta. Enough said.

Panthers vs Lightning:
The Lightning are looking to win their third straight Stanley Cup and the Panthers are looking to dethrone their NHL neighbors. Last year was a great series, and both teams have a great shot at the Stanley Cup this year.

Avalanche vs Panthers:
This matchup would answer the question of "Did Claude Giroux pick the right team?" Both teams have also been at or near the top of the NHL standings all year, so it would arguably be the top two teams of the regular-season meeting in one last battle for glory.

Wild vs Capitals:
This matchup would be intriguing for a couple of reasons. On one hand, you have Kirill Kaprizov going against his idol Alex Ovechkin, and they are arguably the top two Russian NHLers right now. On top of this, Marc-Andre Fleury would be facing the Capitals in the playoffs once again after being on their biggest rival, the Penguins, for most of his career.

bleacherreport.com

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