Four dream playoff series

With the first half of the season finished and the all-star break upon us, hockey fans will begin to get pumped for the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As per usual, fans will more than likely be clamoring for their be match-ups featuring great rivals, teams that hate each other with a passion, or just two teams that would present an intriguing series.

Based on the above criteria, here are the four playoff match-ups we’d most like to see in the 2012 Cup tournament:

Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

There is nothing like a playoff series between two Original Six NHL franchises. With a history of games played between the two clubs, a Leafs-Bruins battle will makes for some great hockey theatre come spring. The two teams have faced each other in the postseason 13 times, which is good for sixth among teams that have met each other most often in the playoffs.

After the traded the 2010 second overall pick to the Boston Bruins for Phil Kessel, the Bruins ended up drafting Tyler Seguin with that pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. While Seguin did not have a ton of points during the regular season, he ended up having a solid postseason and won the Cup in his first season.

While the Leafs cannot change anything that happened last season, they can certainly change the Bruins’ postseason fortunes should the two meet in April or May.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings and Blackhawks rivalry is one filled with great moments, Hall of Famers and history.

The two rivals have met each other in the postseason 15 times. The most recent meeting occurred in the 2009 Western Conference Finals, when the Wings defeated the Blackhawks four games to one, the series ending on an overtime goal by Danny Cleary:

If the two teams were to meet this time around, it would be a much different series. The Blackhawks have more playoff experience under their belts since 2009, have won a Cup, and have watched franchise players such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp become superstars.

The Wings are no slouch, either. The team boasts the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Niklas Kronwall and the outstanding goaltending of Jimmy Howard.

This would be a series to remember between two of the league’s best teams.

New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils

While only one of these teams is an Original Six club, the rivalry between the Rangers and the Devils seems like it has been around forever.

The Hudson River rivals have met each other five times in the tournament, the Rangers coming out on top three times. Of course, everyone involved with the rivalry remembers this:

The playoff games between the two clubs features a history of big hits, clutch goals and great goaltending, whether it was from Mike Richter, Martin Brodeur or Henrik Lundqvist.

Should the two teams meet in the postseason this year, it would certainly be more of the same.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston Bruins

Not since the 2008-09 season have two clubs met in the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back seasons, when the Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins faced each other in both the 2008 and ’09 showdowns.

That could change this season, as the Canucks and Bruins appear to be on a collision course to meet once again in a rematch for the Cup. Fans got a good taste of what that might look like back on Jan. 7, 2012:

This would be one heck of a series and one that both the league and its fans would want to have again.