The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs are right here, and heroes might be cast over the subsequent few weeks, starting with Saturday’s doubleheader when the New York Islanders face the Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs tackle the Boston Bruins. The large stars will get their likelihood to shine, however lesser-known names can usually be the distinction within the postseason.

Within the Western Convention, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Eichel will get many of the highlight, however they cannot hoist the Stanley Cup on their very own. They will want some assist from the remainder of the lineup, and we will spotlight a few of these gamers.

Younger gamers like Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators rookie Luke Evangelista are hoping to interrupt out within the postseason. Casey Mittelstadt and Elias Lindholm, who joined new groups in the course of the season, will attempt to be the lacking puzzle piece for his or her respective groups. Different gamers, like Stuart Skinner and Pierre-Luc Dubois, are in search of redemption in some kind or one other.

Let’s take a deeper dive and take a look at a number of the gamers to observe within the Western Convention because the NHL playoffs start.

When the Stars fell to the Golden Knights in final season’s Western Convention Remaining, Wyatt Johnston was a rookie, and he seemed prefer it at occasions. This season, Johnston must make extra of an impression if the Stars are going to get previous the defending champs. If the 2023-24 common season was any indication, Johnston is as much as the duty. The 20-year-old ahead led Dallas with 32 targets, and his 58.9% anticipated targets share at five-on-five was among the finest marks on the crew, per Pure Stat Trick. Do not count on Vegas to maintain Johnston off the scoresheet this time round.

Because the seconds ticked down towards the 2023 NHL commerce deadline, the Golden Knights managed to drag off a stunner. Vegas acquired Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks, making an already formidable roster much more imposing. On the time, Hertl was recovering from an harm, however he returned in time to play six video games on the finish of the common season. In that point, Hertl posted two targets and two assists whereas assuming a key function on the ability play. Hertl will add extra punch to the Golden Knights’ ahead group, and that might be particularly key with Mark Stone nonetheless working his approach again from a spleen harm.

The Jets might not have a Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar of their lineup, however they do have a fairly underrated supply of offensive punch in Nikolaj Ehlers. Now in his ninth season with the Jets, Ehlers has been having maybe the perfect season of his profession. His 25 targets had been tied for fourth on the crew, and his 61 factors had been tied for third. Past that, the Jets owned a plus-29 objective differential with Ehlers on the ice at five-on-five, in line with Pure Stat Trick. There was some frustration with Ehlers’ lack of ice time this season, however Winnipeg head coach Rick Bowness might not have a lot of a alternative if his crew falls behind.

Casey Mittelstadt might be one thing of an X-factor on this collection. Final season, the Avalanche’s lack of depth value them towards the Seattle Kraken, and it is one thing the Jets might exploit this 12 months, too. Colorado tried to handle its second-line heart situation final offseason by bringing in Ryan Johansen. That transfer did not pan out in any respect, so the Avs swung a giant commerce to herald Mittelstadt on the commerce deadline. Mittelstadt joined the crew on March 8, and since then he has 4 targets and 6 assists in 18 video games. These numbers do not bounce off the web page, however he has been an improve over Johansen, and his playmaking capacity provides the Avs extra versatility up entrance. 

If there’s one space the place the Canucks have a transparent benefit over the Predators, it is down the center. Having Elias Lindholm as a third-line heart is a luxurious that few groups can match, and Nashville is not one among them. The difficulty is that Lindholm hasn’t precisely been a slam dunk in Vancouver. After being acquired by the Canucks in February, Lindholm received off to a little bit of a sluggish begin however has picked it up currently. Nonetheless, his five-on-five impacts have been considerably underwhelming general. In keeping with Pure Stat Trick, Lindholm’s 44.6% anticipated targets share is among the worst numbers on the crew. If Lindholm can elevate his sport within the postseason, Vancouver generally is a major problem within the West.

The Predators’ high line has been wonderful all season, but when they wish to go on a run this spring, the remainder of the lineup has to contribute extra often. A first-rate candidate for a postseason breakout is rookie winger Luke Evangelista. The previous second-round decide has proven flashes of greatness all season, ending with 16 targets and 23 assists, however he actually discovered a groove late within the common season. Evangelista’s reference to Tommy Novak gave Nashville a talented second line, and people two boast a formidable 59.0% anticipated targets share at five-on-five, per Pure Stat Trick. If these two can preserve that going within the playoffs, when offense is more durable to return by, the Predators out of the blue look extra threatening at ahead.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are going to create some offense. That’s not a query. The large query in Edmonton is whether or not the goaltending will maintain up nicely sufficient for a Stanley Cup run. Stuart Skinner had an uneven season in 2023-24. He began out fairly poorly, however he discovered his sport in the course of the season and helped the Oilers fly up the Pacific Division standings. After all, the strain ramps up within the postseason, and Skinner didn’t deal with that strain nicely in 2023. Final 12 months, Skinner appeared in 12 playoff video games and posted a .883 save proportion to associate with 6.93 targets allowed above common. Skinner needs to be higher than that to ensure that Edmonton to outlive a loaded Western Convention.

Few gamers might be below extra scrutiny in these playoffs than Pierre-Luc Dubois. This previous summer time, the Kings acquired Dubois from the Jets and signed him to an eight-year contract value $68 million. Dubois’ manufacturing has not matched that paycheck. He completed the common season with 16 targets and 24 assists in 82 video games. That is not what Los Angeles thought it was getting when it landed Dubois, but when there’s a silver lining, it is that the crew has managed scoring possibilities with him within the sport. Regardless of an underwhelming first season with the Kings, Dubois can change that narrative with a giant playoff efficiency towards the Oilers.