Just about every team is a potential Stanley Cup finalist this year. With the right breaks, a hot goalie and perhaps some injury luck, there are plenty of talented teams with depth who are capable of going on a run.
Every team has established stars who anyone can pick, but plucking the depth scorer who breaks out can help you separate from the pack. Call these the Bryan Bickell All-Stars. Here’s a dark horse option from each Western Conference playoff team to consider in your playoff pool.
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ANAHEIM DUCKS
Top Scorers: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler
Sleepers: David Perron, Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Jamie McGinn
Dark Horse: Rickard Rakell
No one is sleeping on Jakob Silfverberg after his elite performance during last year’s playoffs when he tied Perry for second on the team with 18 points in 16 games. Look instead to Rakell whose emergence has enabled the Ducks to split up Perry and Getzlaf at times. Rakell busted out with 43 points in 72 games, good for fourth on the team, and frequently sees top power-play minutes. While Rakell has just three points in 20 career playoff games, expect him to have a much bigger role this time around.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Top Scorers: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Toews
Sleepers: Brent Seabrook, Artem Anisimov, Andrew Ladd, Tomas Fleischmann
Dark Horse: Teuvo Teravainen
The Blackhawks’ stars are well-known and the recent trade deadline acquisitions will be fresh in the memory of most folks at your playoff draft. It’s a dirty little secret that none of Ladd, Fleischmann or Weise has much history of playoff performance, however. Ladd has just 16 points in 57 career playoff games, while Fleischmann has just nine in 35 and Weise 10 in 34. Teravainen is the youngster who can hit another gear. Some may have forgotten the magic he showed last spring when he scored 10 points in 18 games, while occasionally jumping onto a line with Toews or Kane.
DALLAS STARS
Top Scorers: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza
Sleepers: Ales Hemsky, Alex Goligoski, Mattias Janmark
Dark Horse: Cody Eakin
The NHL’s top offensive team features plenty of no-brainer picks for your playoff pool, but the last time the Stars made the playoffs (2014) Shawn Horcoff led the team in scoring with six points in six games. Eakin was close behind with five points. While opponents focus all their attention on the Stars’ big guns, Eakin is a strong two-way centre who could excel against the opposing third line.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Top Scorers: Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli
Sleepers: Jake Muzzin, Tanner Pearson, Dustin Brown, Marian Gaborik, Kris Versteeg
Dark Horse: Alec Martinez
This iteration of the Kings is littered with past-their-prime wingers who could make an impact. Odds are one of Brown, Gaborik or Versteeg will be a hit alongside Kopitar and Lucic, but predicting which it’ll be seems quite the task. Instead, look at Martinez, who scored some big goals for the Kings during their 2014 Cup run as a little-known third pairing defenceman. He has moved into a much bigger role this season with a career-high 31 points. Never afraid to jump into the rush, Martinez has the ability to score some more big goals this spring.
MINNESOTA WILD
Top Scorers: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter
Sleepers: Mikael Granlund, Jason Pominville, Nino Niederreiter, Jared Spurgeon
Dark Horse: Erik Haula
Haula found himself a healthy scratch for all but two of the Wild’s playoff games last season, but he did score a goal. During their previous playoff run in 2014 Haula scored four goals and seven points in 13 games. He is a gritty third line player who gets to the dirty areas and scores playoff-type goals. His offensive ability has started to emerge with a career-high 34 points this season, 23 of which came after the All-Star break, which is second on the team during that stretch.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Top Scorers: Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, James Neal
Sleepers: Mike Ribeiro, Mike Fisher, Craig Smith, Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm
Dark Horse: Viktor Arvidsson
The Predators have quietly put together one of the deepest rosters in the league with scoring on their top three lines and top two defence pairings. Arvidsson really has not done much damage as a rookie, but offers the sort of game-breaking speed and willingness to shoot from anywhere that cracks defences during the playoffs. This will be Arvidsson’s first North American playoff run, but he did score 24 points in 27 games to help Skelleftea to back-to-back Swedish titles.
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Top Scorers: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
Sleepers: Joonas Donskoi, Tomas Hertl, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Tommy Wingels
Dark Horse: Joel Ward
Sixth on the team in scoring, Ward has slowed down in the second half now that the Sharks are back to full health and he is no longer seeing top power-play minutes. Nonetheless, the gritty two-way winger plays in all situations and has an extensive track record of playoff production with 35 points in 53 career playoff games.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
Top Scorers: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny
Sleepers: David Backes, Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko, Troy Brouwer, Jori Lehtera
Dark Horse: Robby Fabbri
Having bowed out in the first round for three straight seasons, this Blues team may be the epitome of “not getting it done” when the chips are down. Veterans like Steen, Backes and Stastny have failed to produce near their regular season averages. Why not look to some fresh blood instead? Fabbri has turned it on in the second half of his rookie season and is tied for third on the Blues in scoring since the All-Star break.
Steve Laidlaw is the Managing Editor of Dobber Hockey. Follow him @SteveLaidlaw.
