Meanwhile, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins (2020) and Avalanche (2021) didn’t advance out of the second round, while the Panthers (2022) currently find themselves with their hands full against the Capitals - tied 2-2 against a team that finished 22 points behind them during the regular season. And Nikita Kucherov, who spent the entire 2021 regular season on long-term injured reserve, led all postseason scorers with 34 points in 2020 and 32 last season. Vasilevskiy, who was awarded the Conn Smythe last year after shutting out Lightning opponents in all four series-clinching victories (and the past five dating to 2020), is 16-0 in games immediately following a loss over the past three postseasons, including Sunday, when he stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced.īrayden Point who led all NHL players with 14 goals in both the 2020 and ‘21 postseasons, has been a threat to score every time he has the puck on his stick. Hedman, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2000, is making a strong case in the early going this year, locking down regular-season goal-scoring leader Auston Matthews while producing his first-ever four-point postseason game Sunday in Game 4 of the opening-round series against the Maple Leafs. The Lightning didn’t win any scoring crowns, but their best players - perhaps none more than Hedman and Vasilevskiy - stepped up in the biggest moments as they won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. It had to commit to defending in all three zones, being relentless on the forecheck, getting to the hard areas of the ice and putting in the work that leads to scoring chances. It recognized that it needed to add grit, improve its defense and focus on process over outcome.

It learned the hard way that regular-season accomplishments mean nothing in the playoffs when it tied an NHL record with 62 wins in 2018-19 only to be swept by Columbus in the opening round. And ignore the fact that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy isn’t even among the finalists for the Vezina. Forget that defenseman Victor Hedman, despite being a Norris Trophy finalist for the sixth year in a row, is likely to come away empty-handed for the fifth time. So never mind their third-place finish in the Atlantic Division this season. Not the Presidents’ Trophy, or individual accolades.

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