There are 4 teams left in their quest for the Stanley Cup. 1 from Montreal, 1 from New York, 1 from Tampa Bay, and 1 from Las Vegas. There have been memorable plays, players, and teams this year. We’ve had a little bit of everything in this campaign. 1 player from each of the remaining 4 teams have stood out to me till now from each team.
I feel Mathew Barzal of the Islanders has picked up his game immensely from the Penguins series to the last few games of the Boston series and Game 1 of the Lightning series. At first, he wasn’t shooting and making things complicated but now he has gained confidence and has been making key plays. His speed makes it hard for the defenseman guarding him and he blazes through him. He is always in pursuit and is never slowly skating on the ice. He draws penalties, takes penalties, and scores goals.. In that series against the B’s, he was a giant part of their series win and will give Victor Hedman’s group a tough time.
From the Vegas Golden Knights, Max Pacioretty has played great. He missed 6 games of the Wild series but came back ready to go. He has had big goals and gets a quality scoring chance pretty much every game. The puck just finds him. He has been superb for the time he has played and when they are in the offensive zone, he’s going to make a top-notch play. He is also very confident and that will benefit this whole hockey team against the Habs.
Montreal goaltender Carey Price undoubtedly has been their best player. They have started to find offense, but he got them through the Leafs and really annoyed the Jets as he was 4-0 in that series. He has started every game and has an 8-3 record in this playoffs. If there was a playoff Vezina Trophy award, he would definitely win that. He is so quick and his rebound controls his fantastic. His biggest challenge will be against the whole Vegas team but I am confident that he will not make many mistakes.
Lastly, from the Tampa Bay Lightning it has to be Nikita Kucherov. I thought he would be rusty since coming back from a season long injury but he leads the players in points in the playoffs with 18 points. He can shoot, pass beautifully, and takes advantage of the opportunities he has. He is an Ovechkin type of player but operates on the other side and also does one touch passes unlike Ovi. The Bolts are lucky to have him on their team and he will continue being effective for them.
Some of these players have been spectacular all season while some of them are finding their game. They will continue to be a huge part of their respective teams in their hunt to be champions. Will any other players have breakthroughs?
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