For the first time since the Stanley Cup playoffs began, there hasn’t been movement at the top of the Conn Smythe power rankings.
The top spot in the rankings has been previously held by Patrick Marleau, Anze Kopitar, Carey Price and Jonathan Toews, but there has yet to be a repeat leader.
In the last edition – which was beautifully filled out by colleague Ryan Dixon – Henrik Lundqvist and Kopitar held down the top two positions, and it’s the same group at the top once again this week.
With the conference finals heating up, here’s our ranking of the top 10 Conn Smythe candidates:
1) Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers: The Rangers are one game away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final, and Lundqvist is the biggest reason why. He leads all remaining playoff goaltenders with a .926 save percentage and 2.15 goals-against average.
2) Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings: Kopitar has yet to score a goal in the conference final but still leads the league in post-season scoring with 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in 19 games. Even in the midst of his scoring drought, the Kings sniper has registered four assists in five games against Chicago.
3) Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings: Carter has been the most productive Los Angeles forward throughout the series with Chicago. Ten of his 21 playoff points have come in the conference final, including a hat trick in the Kings’ Game 2 victory. He ranks second, behind Kopitar, in playoff scoring.
4) Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks: This spot is obviously predicated on Chicago advancing to the final, which remains possible after Wedensday’s overtime victory. Chicago remains one game away from elimination, but Toews isn’t to blame. The captain has 15 points in 17 playoff games, including points in four of his last five.
5) Martin St. Louis, New York Rangers: It looks like St. Louis was onto something with his trade request to New York. The veteran forward has been the driving force of the Rangers’ offence in the Eastern Conference final with seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last seven games.
6) Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings: Quick’s value doesn’t always show up in his statistics (.909 save percentage for the post-season), but he’s been an essential part of Los Angeles’s playoff run – especially earlier in the playoffs.
7) Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles Kings: Gaborik was held scoreless in the first three games of the Western Conference final against Chicago. Since then, he has scored in back-to-back games and now leads the league in playoff goals (11).
8) Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings: The Canadian Olympian ranks in the top 10 in playoff scoring (three goals, 11 assists). He is tied with P.K. Subban for the most pointsd by a defenceman and has accomplished this while averaging nearly 28 minutes per game.
9) P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens: Subban’s best work came in the series against Boston, but he’s bounced back after a slow start to the Eastern Conference final. Subban has recorded two points in his last two games while registering a plus-three rating in Game 5.
10) Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks: Kane quickly ended his slump with five points in his last two games, including four assists in Wednesday’s Game 5 win. The Blackhawks’ electric scorer now has 15 points in 17 games and is tied for his team lead with Toews.
Honourable mention: Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers — Montreal must really regret that Scott Gomez deal.
