The NHL Conn Smythe Trophy rankings highlight Mitch Marner of the Golden Knights as a potential game-changer in the playoffs. The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche have advanced to the Conference finals, with three Hurricanes players among the top favorites for the award.
Key points
Mitch Marner is a potential game-changer for the Golden Knights.
Carolina Hurricanes swept the Philadelphia Flyers.
Colorado Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild in five games.
Three Conn Smythe Trophy favorites are from the Hurricanes.
Three of five Conn Smythe Trophy favorites play for the Hurricanes, who became the first team since the introduction of the best-of-7 throughout the playoffs in 1987 to win the first eight games.
So, theyâll be more well-rested for the Eastern Conference final than a holidaymaker after a two-week all-inclusive getaway. The other two favorites play for the Avalanche, who suffered just one defeat en route to the Western Conference final.
Today, we look at the five leading candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy for MVP of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Mitch Marner is the only player among the top picks for Conn Smythe at this juncture who doesnât play for the Hurricanes or Avalanche.
Marner has at least one point in eight of 11 games, including four multi-point outings, the most impressive of which was a four-point explosion in Anaheim, which included a hat trick.
He leads the playoffs in points (16) and has six goals, just one behind five players tied at the top with seven.
Heâs also sporting a plus-9 rating and has been instrumental on special teams, helping the Vegas Golden Knights to the second-best penalty kill (87.9 percent) of the remaining teams.
Taylor Hall has 12 points in eight games, averaging 1.5 points per contest. Thatâs superior to Marnerâs 1.45 points per game.
Hall scored at least a point in seven of eight games, including three in Game 4 against the Flyers.
Hall and both of his linemates (Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake) are among the Conn Smythe favorites, underpinning their dominance through two rounds.
If it werenât for Frederik Andersen, Stankoven would be at the top of my Hurricanesâ pecking order. Mr. Clutch has seven goals, tied atop the goal-scoring lead despite playing only eight games.
Itâs not just the accumulation of goals, but the timing of them that puts him front and center in the Conn Smythe conversation.
Stankoven scored the opener in the first three games of the playoffs, a critical late goal against the Ottawa Senators in Game 4, and two in Game 1 against the Flyers.
2. Frederik Andersen, G, Carolina Hurricanes
Nobody is playing better than Andersen, who hasnât allowed more than two goals in eight games.
His perfect 8-0 record is accompanied by arresting best-of-class stats across the board, including a stingy 1.12 goals-against average, a .950 save percentage, and 11.2 goals saved above expected.
While his defense has done a marvelous job protecting him, Andersen continually returns the favor, with a playoff-best .923 save percentage on high-danger shots.
The Conn Smythe favorite is flying. Nathan MacKinnon has at least one goal in six straight, notching 12 points in the same sample size.
Admittedly, three of those goals were empty-net insurance markers. But that doesnât take away from how well Nate Dawg is performing.
Heâs averaging the third-most points per game (1.44) behind Marner (1.45) and Hall (1.50).
I backed the Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup and MacKinnon to win the Conn Smythe long before the post-season started, and thereâs nothing to suggest any team, including the mighty Hurricanes, will derail them.
