What would be your favorite Eastern Conference first-round matchup?
Craig Custance: I might be in the minority, but I don't want to see a first-round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. The first round is already so exciting, the league might want to save some ammunition for Round 2. I love the potential series between the Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets. The geographical proximity between the two franchises makes it fun, as does close friends Mike Sullivan and John Tortorella going at it. You know these coaches wouldn't be able to resist getting into it a little in the media. Tortorella took shots at the Penguins before Sullivan arrived, which would certainly be brought up. This one would be fun on and off the ice.
Pierre LeBrun: I find it hard to believe there's any answer other than Montreal Canadiens-Toronto Maple Leafs. Imagine if in baseball if the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees hadn't met in the playoffs since 1979. Well, that's what you have here potentially with hockey's two most iconic franchises meeting in the first round -- if the Ottawa Senators can reel in the Canadiens for the Atlantic Division title and set up a 2-3 Atlantic matchup between the Habs and Leafs. Now, the Senators aren't being too helpful in all this, dropping three games to Montreal in the space of eight days. Still, they're just three points back of the Habs with a game in hand. The dream is within reach. I've covered the NHL for 22 years and still haven't covered a Leafs-Habs playoff series. Let's make it happen!
Scott Burnside: I must admit a hankering to see a renewal of the Battle of Ontario with the upstart Maple Leafs taking on the archrival Senators, who have come from an equally distant part of the NHL landscape to be part of the playoff discussion. I've covered a handful of what seemed to be annual clashes of the cross-province rivals -- a rite of spring, if you will -- usually dominated by Pat Quinn's Leafs; an Ottawa-Toronto smashup might create even more drama, even more emotion than a Toronto-Montreal clash (sorry, Pierre). And, plus, there's always the potential for Senators owner Eugene Melnyk to launch some sort of independent investigation into an element of the series. Bring it on, I say.
Joe McDonald: I would like nothing more than to see the Boston Bruins and Canadiens in the first round. Plenty of fans in both hockey hotbeds want the same thing. I'm sure new Canadiens coach Claude Julien would welcome a matchup against his former employer, too. Julien spent 10 seasons with the Bruins and helped the organization win a Stanley Cup in 2011 and return to the finals in 2013 before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks. After he was fired in February, it didn't take the Canadiens long to hire Julien. He would probably never say it publicly, but I would imagine Julien is hoping for that first-round matchup. The storylines would be endless.
Rob Vollman: Based only on the history between the two teams, my favorite first-round matchup would be the classic Bruins-Canadiens. In addition to the significance of the NHL's oldest rivalry, there's the Julien factor and that each team has the characteristics of a legitimate dark-horse contender for the Stanley Cup. Beyond that, I'd love to see another showdown between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, which would require the Blue Jackets to win the Metropolitan Division.