Stanley Cup Playoffs: Player Rankings Cheat Sheet

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Player Rankings Cheat Sheet

Below are our 2019 playoff rankings. But first, here are the round-by-round scenarios on which the rankings were based:

FIRST ROUND

Tampa Bay vs. Columbus: Columbus will give Tampa Bay all it can handle, but the Lightning's depth up front and throughout the lineup will prove too much. Tampa Bay's power-play should be the difference despite the brilliant play of Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Lightning in 6

Boston vs. Toronto: Toronto failed to import a physical third/fourth-liner or blueliner at the deadline. Boston plays a heavy game, which will wear down and take its toll on the Maple Leafs. Both teams have firepower up front and from the back line. Tuukka Rask is a better goalie than Frederik Andersen, which makes the difference. Bruins in 7.

Washington vs. Carolina: Carolina is a great story, but Washington is the better team and should advance easily. If Carolina's penalty kill can shut down Alex Ovechkin, maybe the series goes longer than expected. Capitals in 5.

New York vs. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh should dominate, especially on the power play, but the Islanders have the edge in net. This call is a hunch based on home ice and how well the Islanders played at the Nassau Coliseum. If Pittsburgh wins Game 1, all bets are off. Islanders in 7.

Calgary vs. Colorado: Calgary has more talent, and look for Mark Giordano to be on the ice as much as possible against the Rocky Mountain Trio (Nathan MacKinnon,

Below are our 2019 playoff rankings. But first, here are the round-by-round scenarios on which the rankings were based:

FIRST ROUND

Tampa Bay vs. Columbus: Columbus will give Tampa Bay all it can handle, but the Lightning's depth up front and throughout the lineup will prove too much. Tampa Bay's power-play should be the difference despite the brilliant play of Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Lightning in 6

Boston vs. Toronto: Toronto failed to import a physical third/fourth-liner or blueliner at the deadline. Boston plays a heavy game, which will wear down and take its toll on the Maple Leafs. Both teams have firepower up front and from the back line. Tuukka Rask is a better goalie than Frederik Andersen, which makes the difference. Bruins in 7.

Washington vs. Carolina: Carolina is a great story, but Washington is the better team and should advance easily. If Carolina's penalty kill can shut down Alex Ovechkin, maybe the series goes longer than expected. Capitals in 5.

New York vs. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh should dominate, especially on the power play, but the Islanders have the edge in net. This call is a hunch based on home ice and how well the Islanders played at the Nassau Coliseum. If Pittsburgh wins Game 1, all bets are off. Islanders in 7.

Calgary vs. Colorado: Calgary has more talent, and look for Mark Giordano to be on the ice as much as possible against the Rocky Mountain Trio (Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog). Colorado goalie Philipp Grubauer could steal a game of two, while counterpart David Rittich might falter under the weight of starting (and Mike Smith is unreliable). Flames in 5.

San Jose vs. Vegas: If San Jose's Erik Karlsson is truly healthy, this prediction could flip. Sharks goalie Martin Jones has shown he can take a team to the Stanley Cup Finals, but Marc-Andre Fleury has a Cup win and carried Vegas to the Finals last season. The addition of forward Mark Stone helps push Las Vegas over the top. Vegas in 6.

Nashville vs. Dallas: Nashville's blue line and top talent up front will make life tough for Dallas. Goalie Ben Bishop and the power play keeps the Stars in every game, but it's not enough to get past the Predators. Predators in 6.

Winnipeg vs. St. Louis: The Jets should win this series due to their depth up front. But the Blues' top four on D coupled with goalie Jordan Binnington's magic ride continuing, prove to be just enough. Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck is brilliant, but Vladimir Tarasenko gets the game-winner in overtime in Game 7. Blues in 7.

CONFERENCE SEMIFNALS

Tampa Bay vs. Boston: Boston has the pedigree up front, blueline and netminder to win this series, but this is where Tampa Bay's depth proves critical. If you shut down the big boys, Tyler Johnson or Ondrej Palat or Mathieu Joseph or Anthony Cirelli or J.T. Miller can pick up the slack. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Rask negate one another but the Russian netminder gets the betterment of the Finnish goalie. Lightning in 7.

Washington vs. New York: New York shifts to the Barclays Center after the first round, negating its home-ice advance from the Coliseum. Thomas Greiss and Robin Lehner are game but too much Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov carry Washington. Capitals in 5.

Calgary vs. Vegas:  The Golden Knights are under no pressure while the favorite Flames are expected to advance. Vegas' experience from last year coupled with the fine play of The Flower should prove the difference. Stone earns his money, outplaying Gaudreau, Monahan and Lindholm. Bill Peters switches goalies throughout the series to no avail. Golden Knights in 6. 

Nashville vs. St, Louis: The Nashville blueline should make life next to impossible for the St. Louiis top line. Pekka Rinne likely will outplay his younger counterpart, while P.K. Subban turns back the clock to last year's postseason. Look for Nick Bonino to be a surprising contributor. Predators in 6.

CONFERENCE FINALS

Tampa vs. Washington: In a rematch of last year, the Lightning still have a bitter taste in their mouths. Vasilevskiy likely outplays Braden Holtby between the pipes to carry Tampa Bay. Lightning in 6.

Nashville vs. Las Vegas: Vegas made a run to the Finals last season thanks to Fleury and production throughout the lineup. But Nashville's blueline, especially Ryan Ellis, will be the difference, carrying the Predators to their second Cup Finals in three years. Predators in 6.

STANLEY CUP FINALS

Tampa vs. Nashville: The Stanley Cup heads back to Tampa Bay for the first time since 2004. The Lightning finally get over the hump, carried by Brayden Point, who earns the Conn Smythe Trophy. Rinne is dominant in the series, winning two games on his own, but he is unable to will the Predators past the Lightning. Lightning in 6.

And now the playoff rankings. Sort by "Team" if you want to back a specific team.

CENTER

RKPLAYERTEAM
1Brayden PointTBL
2Steven StamkosTBL
3Ryan JohansenNSH
4William KarlssonVGK
5Evgeny KuznetsovWSH
6Nicklas BackstromWSH
7Patrice BergeronBOS
8Paul StastnyVGK
9Tyler JohnsonTBL
10Mark ScheifeleWPG
11Sean MonahanCGY
12David KrejciBOS
13Anthony CirelliTBL
14Elias LindholmCGY
15Sidney CrosbyPIT
16Ryan O'ReillySTL
17Kevin HayesWPG
18Mathew BarzalNYI
19Mikael BacklundCGY
20Nathan MacKinnonCOL
21Evgeni MalkinPIT
22Logan CoutureSJS
23John TavaresTOR
24Auston MatthewsTOR
25Kyle TurrisNSH
26Lars EllerWSH
27Sebastian AhoCAR
28Matt DucheneCBJ
30Tyler SeguinDAL
31Robert ThomasSTL
32Travis BoydWSH
33Brock NelsonNYI
34Nick BoninoNSH
35Cody EakinVGK
36Derek RyanCGY
37Calle JarnkrokNSH
38Brian BoyleNSH
39Joe PavelskiSJS
40Tyler BozakSTL
41Casey CizikasNYI
42Pierre-Luc DuboisCBJ
43Sam BennettCGY
44Mark JankowskiCGY
45Rocco GrimaldiNSH
45Frederick GaudreauNSH
46Valtteri FilppulaNYI
47Joe ThorntonSJS
48Oskar SundqvistSTL
49Cedric PaquetteTBL
50Bryan LittleWPG
51Danton HeinenBOS
52Jordan StaalCAR
53Ryan DzingelCBJ
54Boone JennerCBJ
55Carl SoderbergCOL
56Alex KerfootCOL
57Roope HintzDAL
58Nick BjugstadPIT
59Ivan BarbashevSTL
60Nazem KadriTOR
61Erik HaulaVGK
62Adam LowryWPG
63Nic DowdWSH
64Karson KuhlmanBOS
65Jakob Forsbacka-KarlssonBOS
66Colin WilsonCOL
67Radek FaksaDAL
68Pierre-Edouard BellemareVGK
69Noel AcciariBOS
70Joakim NordstromBOS
71Lucas WallmarkCAR
72Greg McKeggCAR
73Alexander WennbergCBJ
74Tyson JostCOL
75Derick BrassardCOL
76Tyler PitlickDAL
77Jason DickinsonDAL
78Rem PitlickNSH
79Matt CullenPIT
80Riley NashCBJ
81Brandon DubinskyCBJ
82Dillon DubeCGY
83Jason SpezzaDAL
84Lukas RadilSJS
85Barclay GoodrowSJS
86Jordan KyrouSTL
87Frederik GauthierTOR
88Matt HendricksWPG
89Martin NecasCAR
90Joel L'EsperanceDAL
91Adam JohnsonPIT
92Nicolas PetanTOR

WING

RKPLAYERTEAM
1Nikita KucherovTBL
2Alex OvechkinWSH
3Filip ForsbergNSH
4Viktor ArvidssonNSH
5Brad MarchandBOS
6David PastrnakBOS
7Johnny GaudreauCGY
8Jonathan MarchessaultVGK
9Mikael GranlundNSH
10Blake WheelerWPG
11J.T. MillerTBL
12Reilly SmithVGK
13Mark StoneVGK
14T.J. OshieWSH
15Matthew TkachukCGY
16Yanni GourdeTBL
17Ondrej PalatTBL
18Tom WilsonWSH
19Alex KillornTBL
20Max PaciorettyVGK
21Alex TuchVGK
22Kyle ConnorWPG
23Craig SmithNSH
24Jakub VranaWSH
25Brett ConnollyWSH
26Vladimir TarasenkoSTL
27David PerronSTL
28Jake GuentzelPIT
29Colton SissonsNSH
30Jake DeBruskBOS
31Artemi PanarinCBJ
32Anders LeeNYI
33Brayden SchennSTL
34Mathieu JosephTBL
35Mitch MarnerTOR
36Patrik LaineWPG
37Nikolaj EhlersWPG
38Gabriel LandeskogCOL
39Alexander RadulovDAL
40Tomas HertlSJS
41Mikko RantanenCOL
42Michael FrolikCGY
43Wayne SimmondsNSH
44Teuvo TeravainenCAR
45Cam AtkinsonCBJ
46Mats ZuccarelloDAL
47Jordan EberleNYI
48Phil KesselPIT
49Timo MeierSJS
50Jaden SchwartzSTL
51Brandon PirriVGK
52Andre BurakovskyWSH
53Austin WatsonNSH
54Josh BaileyNYI
55Ryan CallahanTBL
56Adam ErneTBL
57Carl HagelinWSH
58Patrick MaroonSTL
59Charlie CoyleBOS
60Nino NiederreiterCAR
61Justin WilliamsCAR
62Josh AndersonCBJ
63James NealCGY
64Jamie BennDAL
65Eeli TolvanenNSH
66Anthony BeauvillierNYI
67Kevin LabancSJS
68Jack RoslovicWPG
69Andrew CoppWPG
70Brandon TanevWPG
71Marcus JohanssonBOS
72Garnet HathawayCGY
73Andreas JohnssonTOR
74Ryan CarpenterVGK
75Sean KuralyBOS
76David BackesBOS
77Micheal FerlandCAR
78Andrei SvechnikovCAR
79Oliver BjorkstrandCBJ
80Austin CzarnikCGY
81J.T. CompherCOL
82Patric HornqvistPIT
83Jared McCannPIT
84Bryan RustPIT
85Gustav NyquistSJS
86Evander KaneSJS
87Zachary SanfordSTL
88Zach HymanTOR
89William NylanderTOR
90Kasperi KapanenTOR
91Patrick MarleauTOR
92Andrew MangiapaneCGY
93Tomas NosekVGK
94Ryan ReavesVGK
95Peter CehlarikBOS
96Chris WagnerBOS
97Nick FolignoCBJ
98Matt NietoCOL
99Leo KomarovNYI
100Cal ClutterbuckNYI
101Matt MartinNYI
102Zach Aston-ReesePIT
103Dominik SimonPIT
104Marcus SorensenSJS
105Joonas DonskoiSJS
106Alexander SteenSTL
107Tyler EnnisTOR
108Connor BrownTOR
109Devante Smith-PellyWSH
110Mathieu PerreaultWPG
111Lee StempniakBOS
112Jordan MartinookCAR
113Brock McGinnCAR
114Sven AndrighettoCOL
115Matt CalvertCOL
116Blake ComeauDAL
117Andrew CoglianoDAL
118Mattias JanmarkDAL
119Miikka SalomakiNSH
120Tom KuhnhacklNYI
121Ross JohnstonNYI
122Michael Dal ColleNYI
123Teddy BluegerPIT
124Samuel BlaisSTL
125Trevor MooreTOR
126Dmitrij JaskinWSH
127Chandler StephensonWSH
128Warren FoegeleCAR
129Saku MaenalanenCAR
130Gabriel BourqueCOL
131Andrew AgozzinoCOL
132Valeri NichushkinDAL
133Brett RitchieDAL
134Josh Ho-SangNYI
135Melker KarlssonSJS
136Robby FabbriSTL
137Mackenzie MacEachernSTL
138William CarrierVGK
139Valentin ZykovVGK
140Par LindholmWPG
141Mason AppletonWPG
142Markus HannikainenCBJ
143Andrew LaddNYI
144Micheal HaleySJS

DEFENSEMEN

RKPLAYERTEAM
1Victor HedmanTBL
2John CarlsonWSH
3Roman JosiNSH
4P.K. SubbanNSH
5Mattias EkholmNSH
6Mark GiordanoCGY
7Ryan McDonaghTBL
8Torey KrugBOS
9Ryan EllisNSH
10Shea TheodoreVGK
11Jacob TroubaWPG
12Dustin ByfuglienWPG
13Mikhail SergachevTBL
14Charlie McAvoyBOS
15Nate SchmidtVGK
16Josh MorrisseyWPG
17Dmitry OrlovWSH
18Kris LetangPIT
19Erik KarlssonSJS
20Brent BurnsSJS
21Alex PietrangeloSTL
22Morgan RiellyTOR
23Erik CernakTBL
24Anton StralmanTBL
25T.J. BrodieCGY
26Braydon CoburnTBL
27Matt NiskanenWSH
28Tyson BarrieCOL
29John KlingbergDAL
30Colin MillerVGK
31Tyler MyersWPG
32Dante FabbroNSH
33Ryan PulockNYI
34Seth JonesCBJ
35Noah HanifinCGY
36Vince DunnSTL
37Colton ParaykoSTL
38Nick JensenWSH
39Justin SchultzPIT
40Rasmus AnderssonCGY
41Dan GirardiTBL
42Jon MerrillVGK
43Dougie HamiltonCAR
44Zach WerenskiCBJ
45Jake MuzzinTOR
46Nathan BeaulieuWPG
47Ben ChiarotWPG
48Michael StoneCGY
49Matt IrwinNSH
50Devon ToewsNYI
51Nick LeddyNYI
52Jan RuttaTBL
53Zdeno CharaBOS
54Matt GrzelcykBOS
55Justin FaulkCAR
56Jaccob SlavinCAR
57Brett PesceCAR
58Travis HamonicCGY
59Miro HeiskanenDAL
60Dan HamhuisNSH
61Yannick WeberNSH
62Adam PelechNYI
63Johnny BoychukNYI
64Tim HeedSJS
65Marc-Edouard VlasicSJS
66Jay BouwmeesterSTL
67Nick HoldenVGK
68Deryk EngellandVGK
69Brayden McNabbVGK
70Christian DjoosWSH
71Brooks OrpikWSH
72Kevan MillerBOS
73John MooreBOS
74Brandon CarloBOS
75Scott HarringtonCBJ
76Ryan MurrayCBJ
77Markus NutivaaraCBJ
78David SavardCBJ
79Oscar FantenbergCGY
80Samuel GirardCOL
81Ian ColeCOL
82Erik JohnsonCOL
83Esa LindellDAL
84Scott MayfieldNYI
85Olli MaattaPIT
86Marcus PetterssonPIT
87Brian DumoulinPIT
88Brenden DillonSJS
89Michael Del ZottoSTL
90Carl GunnarssonSTL
91Robert BortuzzoSTL
92Travis DermottTOR
93Ron HainseyTOR
94Jake GardinerTOR
95Jonas SiegenthalerWSH
96Steve KampferBOS
97Connor CliftonBOS
98Trevor van RiemsdykCAR
99Dean KukanCBJ
100Adam McQuaidCBJ
101Oliver KylingtonCGY
102Juuso ValimakiCGY
103Dalton ProutCGY
104Patrik NemethCOL
105Nikita ZadorovCOL
106Taylor FedunDAL
107Roman PolakDAL
108Ben LovejoyDAL
109Thomas HickeyNYI
110Jack JohnsonPIT
111Erik GudbransonPIT
112Chad RuhwedelPIT
113Justin BraunSJS
114Joakim RyanSJS
115Joel EdmundsonSTL
116Nikita ZaitsevTOR
117Martin MarincinTOR
118Dmitry KulikovWPG
119Sami NikuWPG
120Joe MorrowWPG
121Haydn FleuryCAR
122Calvin de HaanCAR
123Julius HonkaDAL
124Jamie OleksiakDAL
125Chris WidemanPIT
126Radim SimekSJS
127Justin HollTOR
128Igor OzhiganovTOR

GOALIE

RKPLAYERTEAM
1Andrei VasilevskiyTBL
2Pekka RinneNSH
3Marc-Andre FleuryVGK
4Braden HoltbyWSH
5Tuukka RaskBOS
6Jordan BinningtonSTL
7Connor HellebuyckWPG
8Mike SmithCGY
9Robin LehnerNYI
10Sergei BobrovskyCBJ
11Philipp GrubauerCOL
12Thomas GreissNYI
13Matt MurrayPIT
14Frederik AndersenTOR
15Ben BishopDAL
16Martin JonesSJS
17Juuse SarosNSH
18Petr MrazekCAR
19Jaroslav HalakBOS
20David RittichCGY
21Curtis McElhinneyCAR
22Jake AllenSTL
23Louis DomingueTBL
24Pheonix CopleyWSH
25Malcolm SubbanVGK
26Joonas KorpisaloCBJ
27Semyon VarlamovCOL
28Anton KhudobinDAL
29Casey DeSmithPIT
30Aaron DellSJS
31Michael HutchinsonTOR
32Laurent BrossoitWPG

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jan Levine
Levine covers baseball and hockey for RotoWire. He is responsible for the weekly NL FAAB column for baseball and the Barometer for hockey. In addition to his column writing, he is master of the NHL cheat sheets. In his spare time, he roots for the Mets and Rangers.
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