It is not impossible that the first two top scorers of the playoffs for the Stanley Cup in 2022 do not even participate in the competition for the MVP award after the season.
If the Edmonton Oilers reached the final, you could easily see a path that Connor McDavid or Leon Drysight could win the prize, even if they didn’t become champions. But if you only get to Round 3 – and then be swept away there – it will be difficult to build a case.
Of course, they both finished with midpoints per game of two or more, the first time anyone had done so after Round 1 in the pay ceiling era and of course they still have an eight and nine point lead in the post-season race to score points.
But there are some good candidates in Colorado and Tampa Bay who will continue to build their cases over the next two weeks, with a chance to really shine while everyone’s eyes are watching this series.
There is something historic in this combination of MVP candidates. We have one player on the way to finishing with one of the best performances since Defender’s season ever, and another has the opportunity to join a very short list of players, which includes Wayne Gretzky in terms of dominance in the playoffs year after year.
And, of course, there is the goalkeeper – you know who I’m talking about – who may be the first consecutive winner of Con Smythe in his position in four decades.
The Stanley Cup final in Colorado-Tampa Bay is all we could hope for this season, as one team is chasing a dynasty while the other is trying to start its own chase. Which star player of the two will emerge as the winner of Conn Smythe?
Here are our pre-production charts.
1. Cale McCarthy, Colorado Avelanche
When your name is mentioned in the same breath as Bobby Orr, you are something special. And yes, the Colorado defender is different. Not that he’s Bobby Orr – come on now, he’s only 23 in his third season – but he’s unique to today’s game in how dynamic and impactful he is in every aspect, on every place on the ice. Justin Bourne delved into what exactly in Makar’s game sets him apart from other top defenders.
The figures support the idea that Makar is standing alone. With 22 points in 14 games, he is the second highest scorer in these playoffs, but first in points per game. Avs quickly reached the final, losing only twice and gaining two swings, but Makar was kept out of the record only four times.
Historically, the first three rounds of Makar were exceptional. Since the era of the pay ceiling in 2005-06, the top scorer in the playoffs has been Miro Heiskanen, who scored 26 points in 27 games when the Dallas Stars reached the 2020 Cup final and lost to Tampa Bay. With 13 games played less, though, he is still only five from the Heiskanen eclipse and is in good shape to do so.
Go back and Although it still stands out.
Since the 1967 expansion, only 11 defenders have scored more than 22 points for Makar in one post-season, a record of 37 for Paul Kofi in 1984-85. Although he probably won’t catch Kofi. What he has a chance to do is become only the fourth defender in the history of the playoffs to complete a series of playoffs with at least 30 points, which will be joined by Kofi, Brian Leach (1993-94) and Al McInnis (1988-89). ).
Again, however, we need to take into account the games played and look at this through the lens of each game. Although he has an average of 1.57 points per game, which is the third best score of any blueliner who has played more than one round in a playoff season since 1967. The first on this list was again the Kofi season 1984-85 (unattainable 2.06 per game), and the second is … 1.60 by Bobby Orr from 1971-72.
Yes, this is the kind of playoff for Makar and with a strong finish he can win awards for MVP in the playoffs. Hell, with a good enough finale, we wonder if Mick can finish with Conn Smythe, even if Avs lose a long series to Tampa Bay.
However, the next player may have something to say about this …
2. Andrey Vasilevsky, Tampa Bay Lightning
The start of the playoffs was not the best for Vassilevski. In Round 1 against Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay seemed the most vulnerable, mostly because Vassilevsky was not at the level we expected. He conceded at least three goals in each of the first six games and had a .885 percent save during that time, which was slightly behind what Jack Campbell was doing at the other end.
Then the 7th game happened.
We know the story of Vassilevski as a goalkeeper from a great game and he succeeded again against Toronto, stopping 30 of 31 shots to lead Tampa to a 2-1 victory and advance to the second round.
There, against the best offense in the regular season of Florida, Vassilevski conceded only three goals against all series on the road to clearing. He had another slow start to the series in New York, conceding six goals in Game 1, but stopped 94.2% of every shot he faced in the rest of the series. He conceded three goals in the last three matches in the final of the East, winning the match with the upcoming contender Igor Shesterkin.
Vassilevski reached the final with a save rate of .928 and 2.27 GAA, which is a little out of the pace of what he did in the last two playoffs, but not much. If Tampa Bay wins this series and Vassilevsky continues to shine brightest when the pressure is highest in the elimination games, even for Although it will be difficult to keep Conn Smythe from him.
The last time a goalkeeper won Con Con Smiths was Bernie Parent for the Flyers in 1974 and 1975.
3. Nathan McKinnon, Colorado Avelanch
The leading scorer among the players who are still alive in these playoffs, McKinnon has at least one point in all but two matches so far and has not been kept out of the record in consecutive games. His best game was, ironically, a loss in which he scored a hat-trick and added an assist before Colorado missed Game 5 of St. Louis in overtime.
But McKinnon has been a solid force throughout Colorado and has reached the final with six goals in his last six games. Central bull, McKinnon imposed his offensive play in the playoffs and led the league with 82 strokes – 15 more than the next taller (Zack Hyman).
When on the ice at 5-on-5, Colorado outscored their opponents 188-108 and outscored them 20-8, which will be an important area to continue the final against Lightning, who starred in the defense of the evening.
4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
With just two more points, Kucherov will join Wayne Gretzky, Brian Trotier and Mike Bossi as the only players in league history to finish the playoffs with at least 25 points in three consecutive years.
Tampa’s top scorer has seven points more than Ondrej Palat, Lightning’s next top scorer, and he also leads his team with 60 shots. Kucherov is the catalyst for Tampa’s power play because he is a threat to shoot, pass or falsify anyone to open paths for his teammates. Lightning’s strong play (22.6%) was not as strong as Colorado’s (31.1%), but Kucherov took into account 10 of Tampa’s 14 goals in the men’s lead.
The “problem” with Kucherov’s candidacy for Con Smythe is that he seems to have a much harder rise ahead of his teammate on this list than McKinnon. If Lightning wins the Cup, it will be difficult for Kucherov to score enough points to get more attention from Vassilevski, unless it becomes a battle-type circus at the Battle of Alberta, where defense and goalkeeping are not required. We would not rely on that.
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