2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Postseason Superlatives

This was one of my favorite postseasons to date. It featured one of the closest rounds in postseason history with six of the eight series in the first round going the distance. We got to see some new faces make it to the conference finals and the coronation of a new champion against a team looking to build a dynasty. Not to toot my own horn too much but I had a good postseason picking winners, selecting the correct team in 11 of the 15 series from my original predictions. I want to go over some of the best and worst of the postseason as well as my picks for my All-Star teams of the playoffs. 

Postseason Superlatives

Biggest Team Suprise- Edmonton Oilers

This is less of a surprise because of the guys on the team and is based more on the fact that they hadn't gone this far in the postseason with McDavid and Draisaitl. While they did get swept by Colorado in the Western Conference Final, they won two incredibly fun series, including an incredibly fun five-game win over the Pacific Champion Calgary Flames. We knew they had the talent and scoring ability to get to this point, but it was the performance of Mike Smith in the first and second rounds that stole the show at points. 

Honorable Mention- New York Rangers

Best Individual Surprise- Jake Oettinger (3-4, .954 SV%, 1.81 GAA in 7 Games)

This might come as a shocker since he was the losing goalie in the first round, but he may have had the best individual round of any goalie other than Andrei Vasilevskiy in the second round against Florida. He played well in the regular season for the Stars, winning 30 games as their starter for most of the season. His series against Calgary was the epitome of a star-making performance, including a 64-save performance in an overtime loss in Game 7 to Calgary. Among goalies with five appearances in the postseason, his 1.81 goals-against average was second-best and his .954 save percentage topped the league. The only thing that could've made it better was a win in Game 7.

Honorable Mention- Ondrej Palat

Biggest Team Disappointment- Florida Panthers

The President's Trophy winners did accomplish something they hadn't in 26 years, which is great for them. However, they were extremely underwhelming during their outings this postseason. They struggled at times with the Washington Capitals in the first round, dropping two of the first three games, and while they'd go on to win the series in six games, it was clear they weren't sure what to do next. They only scored three goals against Tampa Bay in the second round and were finished in quick order. Their power play was the awful all postseason, scoring just once in 31 tries in ten games. As prolific as their offense was in 82 games, it disappeared at times in the postseason and led to a quick exit.

Honorable Mention- Calgary Flames

Biggest Individual Disappointment- Alex Killorn (+ no Brayden Point)

After being a major part of the last two Stanley Cup runs for the Lightning, Killorn put together the best season of his career in 2021-22. His 25 goals were just one goal behind his career-high, while his 34 assists and 59 points were new top marks. He was going to be just as big a part of their run this time around and he played well during the first round. He picked up four assists in their seven-game win over Toronto and while that isn't going to be seen as amazing, it was miles better than his production the rest of the postseason. Killorn would be held scoreless in the final three rounds, ending the postseason on a 17-game scoreless drought. The other major disappointment isn't as much on the player as it is the injury bug. Brayden Point is a fun player to watch when he's healthy but after he got hurt early in Game 7 of the first round, he'd only play in two more games, both in the Stanley Cup Final and he was hardly healthy enough to be a factor. 

Honorable Mention- Jack Campbell

Best Moment- Connor McDavid ends the Battle of Alberta (2nd Round, Game 5)

It's easy to pick an overtime winner because the raw emotion of the winning goal is a hard thing to replicate. There were some good ones this postseason, but I've opted to go with the goal that ended the second-round matchup between the Oilers and Flames. This was one of the most exciting series, albeit one that ended a bit prematurely. I picked this overtime goal over Carter Verhaeghe's in the first round and Artturi Lehkonen's in the Western Conference Final because of the reaction from Connor McDavid. As the league's best player, he hasn't seen much success in the postseason, failing to advance past the second round since being drafted in 2015. After three crazy periods, seeing him celebrate his winning goal and the pure look of elation on his face as he celebrated punching the Oilers' ticket to the Western Conference Final was a side of McDavid we don't get to see too often. 

Honorable Mention- Artturi Lehkonen sends Colorado to the Stanley Cup Final (WCF, Game 4)

Best Trade Deadline Acquisition- Artturi Lehkonen (8 Goals, 14 Points in 20 Games)

It might be cheating since he was on the Cup-winning team, but Lehkonen's performance in the postseason was very notable. He had just nine points in 16 games after being acquired from Montreal and didn't start the postseason very hot, scoring just twice in Colorado's sweep of Nashville and three points against St. Louis. His play really picked up in the Western Conference Final. In their four-game sweep, he notched six points, including a three-point performance in Game 4 highlighted by his scoring of the game-winner in overtime to end the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final. He then scored two more goals in the final, the second of which gave Colorado a 2-1 lead in Game 6 in what would be the clinching game of the series. 

Honorable Mention- Andrew Copp (6 Goals, 14 Points in 20 Games)

Best Series- First Round- Tampa Bay Lightning v. Toronto Maple Leafs

I had a tough time picking this one, but ultimately picked the series that appeared to be the most even on paper when the postseason began and delivered in every way. The storylines coming into this tilt were front and center before the puck dropped for Game 1. Tampa Bay was coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup victories and was without home ice to begin the postseason once again. Toronto's history of postseason blunders is well-documented, failing to win a series since 2004. The goals came in bunches to start the series as the two sides alternated wins through the first six games, Toronto winning the odd-numbered games and Tampa Bay winning the even-numbered games. After forcing a seventh game with an overtime win in Game 6, it was a two-goal performance from Nick Paul that helped Tampa Bay win the series on the road, allowing the Lightning to continue their push for a third-straight Stanley Cup, while Toronto would face the bitter taste of another loss in the first round in a seventh game. 

Honorable Mention- First Round- Dallas Stars v. Calgary Flames

Best Game- Second Round, Game 1- Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames

My anticipation for this series was higher than any other in the postseason and while it didn't deliver a very long series, it did give us a lot of offense. Never was that more present than in the opening game of the series from Calgary. Both teams had just finished a seven-game series, but Calgary didn't look like they were too tired. They jumped on Mike Smith, scoring three goals in 6:05 to force him out of the game. Calgary led 6-2 8:24 into the second period, but Edmonton would score four unanswered on Jacob Markstrom to tie things up 6-6 early in the third period. The stalemate wouldn't last long as Rasmus Andersson broke the tie, then Matthew Tkachuk scored twice to complete the hat trick and give Calgary a 9-6 win to open the series. 

Honorable Mention- Second Round, Game 5- Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues

My All-Postseason Teams

First Team

F- Connor McDavid (10 Goals, 23 Assists, 33 Points in 16 Games)

Despite only playing in three rounds, McDavid led the league in points with 33 and 23 assists were second-most. He averaged well over a point-per-game in the first and second rounds, while also recording seven points in Edmonton's four-game loss to Colorado in the Western Conference Final. 

F- Nikita Kucherov (8 Goals, 19 Assists, 27 Points in 23 Games)

He was largely invisible during the Stanley Cup Final (just four points in six games), but that doesn't undercut how good he was in the three prior rounds. He was the Bolts' leader in points in each round before the finals and finished top five in both assists and points. 

F- Mikko Rantanen (5 Goals, 20 Assists, 25 Points in 20 Games)

Though he didn't score the puck at the rate of his teammates, his distributing skills were on full display. He finished with eight assists in the Stanley Cup Final, leading the finals in points, and remaining the most consistent forward for the Avalanche en route to the Stanley Cup. 

D- Cale Makar (8 Goals, 21 Assists, 29 Points in 20 Games, Conn Smythe Winner)

Hands down the best player in the postseason this season, Makar was my pick to win the Conn Smythe. He was playing at an unreal level for 20 games and his 29 points led both the Avalanche and all defensemen in the league. 

D- Adam Fox (5 Goals, 18 Assists, 23 Points in 20 Games)

Fox was a major reason for the Rangers' series wins over the Penguins and Hurricanes. He finished with ten points in the first round and added eight in the second round and while his team couldn't get it done in the Eastern Conference Final, his five points were tied for the team lead. 

G- Igor Shesterkin (10-9, .929 SV%, 2.59 GAA in 20 Games)

It was a tight race between him and Vasilevskiy for this distinction, but I've opted to go with the Vezina winner from this season. Without the play of Shesterkin when the Rangers were facing elimination, they wouldn't have made it to the Eastern Conference Final. 

Second Team

F- Leon Draisaitl (7 Goals, 25 Assists, 32 Points in 16 Games)

Draisaitl was a major reason for the Oilers' success and run to the Western Conference Final, leading the league with 25 assists and finishing one point behind McDavid for the league lead. His performance in the second round was especially notable, putting up two goals and 15 assists in five games. 

F- Mika Zibanejad (10 Goals, 14 Assists, 24 Points in 20 Games)

While Shesterkin and Fox led the defense, Zibanejad kept the offense going on all cylinders. His 24 points were seventh-most in the league, he put up 11 points in their series with Pittsburgh, and went on an eight-game point streak between the Carolina and Tampa Bay series, scoring seven goals. 

F- Nathan MacKinnon (13 Goals, 11 Assists, 24 Points in 23 Games)

Though he's likely been surpassed by Auston Matthews as the league's second-best player, he was as consistent as they come in the postseason. He averaged a point-per-game or better in all four rounds and finished tied for the league lead with 13 goals as his team won the Stanley Cup. 

D- Victor Hedman (3 Goals, 16 Assists, 19 Points in 23 Games) 

Hedman was very effective in the first round against the Maple Leafs, finishing with seven points in seven games, and was one of the better players in the final against Colorado. While the goal-scoring wasn't there, he was huge on the power play. 

D- Devon Toews (5 Goals, 10 Assists, 15 Points in 20 Games)

Toews found his scoring touch in the first round against Nashville, scoring three of his five goals in the four-game sweep. He was paired with Makar for most of the postseason and the two of them together made life hard for opposing defenses. 

G- Andrei Vasilevskiy (14-9, .922 SV%, 2.52 GAA in 23 Games)

He wasn't his usual self at various points, allowing a lot more goals than we're accustomed to seeing. That being said, he still showed flashes of brilliance, especially when he allowed only three goals in four games against Florida. 

Third Team

F- Ondrej Palat (11 Goals, 10 Assists, 21 Points in 23 Games)

Palat had a flair for the dramatic this postseason, scoring a couple of late goals in games to help the Bolts win some tight games. His 11 goals were tied for the team lead in goals with Steven Stamkos and second on the team in points behind Kucherov. 

F- Gabriel Landeskog (11 Goals, 11 Assists, 22 Points in 20 Games)

The captain of the Avalanche was the first to hoist the Stanley Cup following their victory in Game 6 and the postseason he had before it wasn't half bad either. He was in the cluster of players to finish with 11 goals, second on the team behind MacKinnon. 

F- Evander Kane (13 Goals, 4 Assists, 17 Points in 16 Games)

As the third part of the terrifying first line of the Oilers throughout the playoffs, Kane finished tied for the league lead in goals with 13. He recorded five multi-goal games, including two hat tricks, the only player with multiple hat tricks in the postseason. 

D- Tony DeAngelo (1 Goal, 9 Assists, 10 Points in 14 Games)

DeAngelo's antics on the road were more likely to make news, but he wasn't too bad for the Canes during their two rounds either. His six points on the power play were the fourth-most amongst defensemen and his ten points were tied for fifth-most. 

D- Josh Manson (3 Goals, 5 Assists, 8 Points in 20 Games)

Another deadline acquisition for the Avalanche, Manson fit like a glove for the Stanley Cup Champions on the backend. He scored a couple of big goals for Colorado, none bigger than his overtime winner in Game 1 against St. Louis. 

G- Antti Raanta (6-5, .922 SV%, 2.26 GAA in 13 Games)

The Hurricanes' postseason was a tale of polar opposites while at home and on the road, but Raanta was every bit as good no matter the location. Raanta was perfect at home, going 6-0 and allowing just eight goals in eight games and finishing third in save percentage and goals-against average among goalies.