Besides Draper and McCarty, defenseman and captain Nicklas Lidstrom and goaltender Chris Osgood remain from the 1996 Wings. On the flip side, center and captain Joe Sakic, along with center Forsberg and defenseman Foote are still with the Avs.

"If you're part of that, you remember that," Forsberg said of those series against the Wings. "You know the buzz in both cities. The newer guys that weren't around for those series are going to get a taste of it right away."

"It’s always great hockey," McCarty added.

Great hockey is exactly what should be expected in the clash between the Penguins and Rangers, who can both send an array of A-list stars over the boards.

Pittsburgh’s Crosby and Malkin appear to be 1 and 1A when it comes to determining which one is the better player. "Sidney is a go-to guy and done so many things for us, it takes the pressure off Malkin and (Petr) Sykora," Penguins GM Ray Shero said.

Meanwhile, the Rangers have offseason additions and proven playoff performers Chris Drury and Scott Gomez to go with veterans Jagr and Brendan Shanahan.

The Malkin-Crosby combination brings back memories of the days when Jagr and Mario Lemieux — known simply as Mario and Mario Jr., since the latter was an anagram for Jaromir — ran roughshod over the NHL.

Jagr broke in with the Penguins in 1990-91, winning Stanley Cups his first two seasons there and later, wearing the crown as the league’s most dominant star, winning five scoring titles and one MVP award.

There’s also some history of bad blood here. Back in 1992, when the two clubs met in the second round, New York’s Adam Graves broke Lemieux’s wrist with a slash.

Speaking of bad blood, meet the Sharks and Stars. This rivalry might fly under the national radar, but these two Pacific Division rivals get along about as well as Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump.

That’s if you can picture the Donald and Rosie duking it out with sticks.

Already having disposed of the defending Cup champion Ducks, the Stars now take aim at the Sharks, the sexy pick to win it all this year.

Dallas and San Jose split the eight-game season series and the last meeting saw the Sharks' No. 1 center Joe Thornton snap and take 19 minutes in penalties seeking to personally eliminate aggravating Stars grinder Steve Ott.

They’ll look to continue to agitate Thornton, whose character has been questioned in past playoffs, but whom many feel took a step forward with his leadership during San Jose’s seven-game first-round verdict over Calgary.

"I think he's mature enough," NBC Sports' Mike Milbury said of Thornton. "If they don't win it this year, he's never going to win it."

This series will also feature two of the legends of USA Hockey, Stars center Mike Modano and Sharks winger Jeremy Roenick.

Special feature Chelios best-ever in that category?

Both turned back the clock in the opening round. Modano finished with six points as Dallas ousted the Ducks in six games, while Roenick rallied from a Game 6 benching to score twice and set up two other goals as San Jose eliminated Calgary.

"These are the games when careers are defined and reputations are made," Roenick said.

One factor is definitely certain.

It will make for sensational hockey, no matter which game you are watching.

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