The hype is building for this best-on-best Stanley Cup Final. I’m sure you’ve seen this hype out on the streets like I have, at bus stops, coffee shops, and hospital exam rooms.
It’s the league’s most immovable playoff machine versus the league’s most unstoppable player — something’s gotta give.
In an effort to empirically determine which team has the upper hand in this series, I assembled an All-Cup-Final Team, picking the best player from each team at every position.
Hopefully, it’ll help provide some expertise to the many discussions happening on the streets of North America.
Center – Connor McDavid, Oilers
McDavid is the obvious choice to be in the starting lineup at the center position in this series.
In his 16 games this postseason, he’s had 26 points, with six goals and 20 assists. Additionally, he’s a +10 in his time on ice. It goes without saying that he’s the main engine of this Oilers offense.
McDavid, 28 years old, is playing in his seventh postseason for Edmonton. During this postseason, McDavid joined the Oilers leaderboard for all-time playoff points, where he now ranks fifth behind Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, and Glenn Anderson.
He leads the pack in odds for the Conn Smythe. BetMGM has him at +100 to win the Trophy.
2nd Line C: Leon Draisaitl, Oilers
3rd Line C: Aleksander Barkov, Panthers
4th Line C: Sam Bennett, Panthers
Left Wing – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oilers
Edmonton’s 32-year-old forward Nugent-Hopkins narrowly leads a surprisingly competent group of left-wing forwards in this Cup Final series.
Nicknamed ‘The Nuge,’ he’s become a versatile utility player for the Oilers in this postseason. McDavid called him a “Swiss-Army Knife” when talking to reporters after Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
“[He’s] just solid overall, making plays, doing his thing, he’s asked to do everything every single night, he’s playing great,” McDavid said.
He made big plays in the last series against the Dallas Stars, turning in multi-point games in the first four of the series.
Nugent-Hopkins has 18 points in the postseason, with five goals and 13 assists. He was drafted by Edmonton first overall in the 2011 entry-level draft.
2nd Line LW: Carter Verhaeghe, Panthers
3rd Line LW: Evander Kane, Oilers
4th Line LW: Jeff Skinner, Oilers
Right Wing – Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers
From my point of view, Tkachuk would be the first overall pick in a draft of the most annoying players in the NHL, but the fact that he’s one of the league’s most elite players might be the most irritating thing about him.
It may feel like it’s been a slightly quieter playoffs for the 27-year-old compared to last year, but the stats don’t tell the same story.
Through 17 games this postseason, he’s posted 16 points, comprised of five goals and 11 assists. In 22 games last postseason, he had six goals and 16 assists.
The arrival of a new irritant on the Panthers roster, in Brad Marchand, has dampened the discourse on Tkachuk. If so, it’s also dampened his penalty minutes, where Marchand now leads with 46 while Tkachuk only has 29. In last year’s playoffs, he led with 31.
2nd Line RW: Brad Marchand, Panthers
3rd Line RW: Sam Reinhart, Panthers
4th Line RW: Corey Perry, Oilers
Left-Shot Defenseman – Gustav Forsling, Panthers
Florida’s 28-year-old Swedish left-shot defenseman Gustav Forsling is one of the best lockdown defenders in the playoffs.
He’s got the most shots blocked and most takeaways of any defenseman on the Panthers. He also leads all of Florida’s defensemen in plus-minus with a +10 in 378 minutes played.
In a story during the Panthers’ semifinals series against the Maple Leafs, the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson described his play as “wizardry.”
“The Florida Panthers’ top defenseman is so sound with his movements, so accurate with his positioning, that his production comes quietly,” McPherson wrote.
This is Forsling’s fifth postseason run with Florida.
2nd-pairing LD: Mattias Ekholm, Oilers
3rd-pairing LD: Niko Mikkola, Panthers
Right-Shot Defenseman – Evan Bouchard, Oilers
Bouchard has become one of the most critical players in the Oilers’ success this postseason.
Offensively, he’s become an incredible weapon. He’s a +9 through 16 games this postseason, and he’s logged 17 points with six goals and 11 assists. He also has the highest goals above expected of any player in the postseason, with 4.5.
But the advanced stats also say he’s one of the best defensemen in this series.
Among qualified defenseman (who’ve played more than 250 minutes in the playoffs), he has one of the lowest one-ice expected goals per game with 2.53. He has the second-best on-ice expected goal differentials in the league with a +9. And in simple stats, he has the most takeaways in the playoffs, with 16.
Bouchard was drafted 10th overall by Edmonton in 2018.
2nd-pairing RD: Aaron Ekblad, Panthers
3rd-pairing RD: Seth Jones, Panthers
Goalie – Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers
It shouldn’t be surprising that Bobrovsky’s the pick here in net, given the state of things on the other side of the ice.
But even with the subpar goaltending in Edmonton, Bobrovsky’s still an elite goalie worthy of starting in this team of make-believe. He’s put up impressive numbers while having far and away the most ice time of any goalie in the postseason.
He’s got an outrageous 8.5 goals saved above expected, second behind Washington’s Logan Thompson, and a 1.48 wins above replacement, also second behind Thompson.
What’s also impressive is that Bobrovsky’s doing all this with one of the worst shot-blocking percentages from the defenseman in front of him.
Only 22.19% of shot attempts against Bobrovsky have been blocked by teammates, the fourth lowest in the NHL amongst goaltenders who’ve started at least six games this playoffs. Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner has 23.67% for reference.
Backup Goaltender: Stuart Skinner, Oilers
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