There are some new faces in the NHL playoffs this year, and a lot of familiar ones that didn’t make the cut.

The defending champion Los Angeles Kings failed to make the playoffs this year, along with the Boston Bruins, who are seemingly always in the playoffs. Many analysts had high expectations for the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche as well, but both teams had poor seasons and were far away from playoff contention.

With the field set, there are plenty of good matchups to be played and an exciting NHL postseason awaits us.

There are two first-round matchups in both conferences that I am particularly intrigued with.

In the west, the Nashville Predators first-round matchup is against the Chicago Blackhawks. Both teams are stacked with talented players, and some of the best goaltending the NHL has to offer. I think there is clear potential for the winner of this series to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The other matchup on this side is the Vancouver Canucks against the Calgary Flames. Calgary has a host of young, talented players on their team, including Johnny Gaudreau, and earned their first playoff win since 2009 in the opening game of this series. Vancouver has the experience, but the Flames are hot, and it may be their year to upset some teams and emerge as a legitimate contender in the Western Conference.

On the other side of the playoff bracket, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings will face off in the opening round, as well as the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders. Both the Lightning and Red Wings are equipped with young, talented netminders, both alumnus of the University of Maine in Ben Bishop for the Lightning and Jimmy Howard for the Red Wings.

Howard has had somewhat of an off year, being pulled at one point in the season, but is back in net for Detroit. Bishop has had a good year for the Lightning, winning 40 games in the regular season, and their high-powered offense might get the best of Howard in this series.

Washington has the advantage over the Islanders in experience and wealth of talented players as well, but the Islanders took game one and they might have enough to take the series. John Tavares is a premier center and goal-scorer in the NHL, and their goaltending has finally been stabilized with the addition of Jaroslav Halak. They also have a great defensive scheme with guys like Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy, who they traded for to improve their net front presence. This team is built to go deep in the playoffs.

The one seeds in this bracket shouldn’t have too much difficulty making it by the first-round of action, but the Ottawa Senators have been on a hot streak as of late. Sadly for them, they have to face the hottest goaltender in hockey in Carey Price, who racked up 44 wins during the regular season between the posts for Montreal. Although the Senators are hot, Montreal is too well-rounded of a team across the board to give up a first round series to Ottawa, but there’s potential for the series to be extended to six or seven games.

The Blackhawks by far have the toughest road to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but at this time of year, it’s so hard to bet against them. They have the deepest roster in hockey and the most goal scorers. Their defense is stout and goaltender Corey Crawford has proved what he can do in playoff hockey. They’ll have to upend the Predators in the first round, and then likely take on the St. Louis Blues to reach the Western Conference final, but this is no feat they haven’t done before.

Montreal will have to face the winner of the Lightning and Red Wings in the second round, but they have the talent to beat out whomever they face and make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. There, I predict they will face the Rangers, which will be a grueling seven game series. The Rangers are an extremely talented bunch as well, but goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has battled injuries this season, and won’t be in rhythm to go the distance for New York this postseason.

Look for the Canadiens and the Blackhawks to face off in the Stanley Cup Finals, with the Canadiens hoisting the Stanley Cup after a six game series.