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4 first-round Stanley Cup playoff matchups we’d love to see

By Kyle McKenna

CALGARY, AB - FEBRUARY 1: Buddy Robinson #53 of the Calgary Flames fights Jujhar Khaira #16 of the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on February 1, 2020 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB - FEBRUARY 1: Buddy Robinson #53 of the Calgary Flames fights Jujhar Khaira #16 of the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on February 1, 2020 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) /
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With the hope that the NHL can still host the 2019-20 Stanley Cup playoffs, let’s look at four first-round matchups fans would love.

While there’s a chance the Stanley Cup playoffs might be canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, let’s not rule out the idea that this year’s postseason could be one of the most entertaining of all-time.

After the NHL witnessed two teams win their first-ever Stanley Cup championships over the last two seasons, there’s more reason to believe that the 2019-20 playoff picture shouldn’t disappoint.

Here are four first-round matchups that fans should love to see.

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images /

Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh

The Keystone State rivalry has only transpired twice over the last decade. So, naturally, the spring season of 2020 is a perfect time for the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins to face-off in the first round of the playoffs.

The heated rivals met back in 2011-12 when the Flyers eliminated the Steel City, but it was Sidney Crosby and his Penguins who defeated Philadelphia is the most recent playoff matchup back in 2017-18.

The Flyers are one of the most surprising stories in hockey this season and a hungry Pittsburgh squad seems to have at least a handful of years left before it starts flirting with the term “rebuild” again. Nothing would please Penguin fans more than putting a major damper on Philadelphia’s overachieving 2019-20 campaign by eliminating the Flyers in Round 1.

Let’s not forget that the same can be said for the orange and black if the Flyers took down Crosby and the Pens while sending them to the golf course earlier than usual. The City of Brotherly Love arguably hasn’t been this excited for its hockey team since the Flyers last advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009-10.

Considering Crosby and Flyers’ captain, Claude Giroux, are nearing the end of their prime seasons, a seven-game series in Round 1 between these historic franchises wouldn’t harm anyone, right? Bragging rights are always on the line between these two cities and when it comes down to playoff hockey — the stakes are that much higher.

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