In the final moments of the Stanley Cup final, who are Mike Stephens' top 5 to win playoff MVP? And if Vegas wins it all, who from the Florida Panthers has an outside chance?
The Stanley Cup final is almost over, as the Vegas Golden Knights hold a 3-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers and head into a critical Game 5 that could place them atop hockey's highest mountain.
With the Cup in the building and a dance with destiny on the horizon, only one question remains: Who deserves the Conn Smythe?
Let's take a look at my personal power rankings to see which candidate is the most worthy.
1. Jonathan Marchessault - Vegas Golden Knights
Playoffs Stat Line: 21 GP, 13 goals, 11 assists, 24 points, 17:27 TOI
The margin between Marchessault and Eichel for the Conn Smythe is razor-thin. Both players have been absolutely phenomenal for the Golden Knights on their run to the Cup, and the club simply would not be on the precipice of championship glory without them.
Choosing between the two is like picking a favorite child. It's a borderline impossible task. But I'm going to do it anyway.
What gives Marchessault the edge here – by a teeny tiny smidge, no less – is that, in my opinion, goals are more valuable than assists. Assists are what lead to goals, of course, so this isn't to denigrate the playmakers out there. But in a Sophie's Choice-type dilemma, I can't help but fall back on how you can pass the puck around for hours without putting it in the net and still end up losing.
Marchessault puts pucks in nets. He's done it 13 times this post-season, in fact, with three of them being game-winners. Not to mention, Marchessault is on an absolute heater right now, having scored all 13 of those goals from the second round on. There's something to be said about playing your best hockey in the biggest moments, and that's exactly what Marchessault has done. Therefore, he gets my edge.
2. Jack Eichel - Vegas Golden Knights
Playoffs Stat Line: 21 GP, 6 goals, 17 assists, 23 points, 19:06 TOI
There's just something intrinsically lovely about Jack Eichel playing elite hockey on the sport's biggest stage. Food tastes better. Colors are more vibrant. One extra abdominal muscle appears on my stomach when I look in the mirror. It's just good for the soul.
Make no mistake, Eichel has been gosh-darn outstanding in his first-ever playoff action.
The counting stats are one thing. But Eichel's value extends well beyond the box score. The 26-year-old leads the Vegas forward corps in average nightly ice time, is routinely matched against the best his opponents have to offer, and still manages to come out on top. In 21 games of post-season action thus far, the Golden Knights have outscored the opposition by a margin of 18-7 in Eichel's 5-on-5 minutes, according to naturalstattrick.com. They've also generated 52.58 percent of the scoring chances, 50.81 percent of the high-danger chances, and controlled 52.29 percent of the expected goals.
It's hard to be more valuable to your team's success than that.
3. Matthew Tkachuk - Florida Panthers
Playoff Stat Line: 20 GP, 11 goals, 13 assists, 24 points, 21:37 TOI
I mean, do I really need to elaborate? Tkachuk has been the biggest star of the playoffs in 2023, ascending to the upper echelon of elite players in today's NHL with unstoppable production and timely scoring.
If the Conn Smythe was awarded to the player deemed to most have "That Dawg in Them," Tkachuk would be the runaway winner. But, alas, no such award exists yet. The fact that his team is on the verge of getting bounced in five games sadly keeps him out of legitimate contention for now.
But, gosh dang, what a run it's been.
Tkachuk has scored four game-winning goals this post-season, including a buzzer-beater with four seconds left in regulation to finalize Florida's sweep over the Carolina Hurricanes and book their ticket to the Cup final. He's also scored countless game-tying goals, as well such as the extra-attacker tally in Game 3 to force overtime and give the Panthers their only win of the series, while throwing his body around without abandon and setting the physical tone.
In Tkachuk's 5-on-5 minutes these playoffs, the Panthers have outscored their opponent 17-7, generated 55.16 percent of the scoring chances, 60.67 percent of the high-danger chances, and 56.44 percent of the expected goals, according to naturalstattrick.com.
Tkachuk has been the engine driving this Panthers team. And if he can't play in Game 5, which seems up in the air right now, we might as well start etching Vegas onto the Cup already.
4. Adin Hill - Vegas Golden Knights
Playoff Stat Line: 15 GP, 10-4 record, 2 SO, .934 SP, 2.11 GAA
The only thing keeping Adin Hill out of the No. 1 spot on this list is playing time. Taking over the starter's crease in Round 2, Hill has played just 15 of Vegas' 21 games this post-season and, despite his incredible performance, hasn't sustained it over the same sample size as his teammates.
But that shouldn't mean his results should be ignored, either.
Hill has put forth one of the greatest runs of goaltending we've ever seen over the past two months. His two shutouts and .934 save percentage both rank atop all other NHL netminders in these playoffs, but it's Hill's absolutely mind-boggling 12.9 goals saved above average that really sets him apart from the pack.
Without Hill, Vegas would have allowed roughly 13 more goals against than they currently have. And in that alternate universe, it's hard to imagine they'd be where they are today.
5. Sergei Bobrovsky - Florida Panthers
Playoff Stat Line: 18 GP, 12-5 record, 1 SO, .924 SP, 2.50 GAA
There was a time when the Conn Smythe was Sergei Bobrovsky's to lose. I even picked him to win it in the event the Panthers lost to Vegas on the assumption that he'd continue his historic run of success.
But that just hasn't happened. Bobrovsky hasn't been terrible through four games of the final, but he hasn't been the unstoppable force that bulldozed any and all challengers in Rounds 1 to 3, either. And when his numbers dip below that of the goalie at the other end of the ice, it's hard to put Bobrovsky in pole position to take home the hardware.
That Game 2 performance, in which Bobrovsky got the hook in the second period after allowing four goals on 13 shots, was likely the nail in his Conn Smythe coffin. And, barring another Cinderella comeback, he's lost too much ground to catch up.