Stanley Cup storylines: 8 players who could swing the conference finals

The Stanley Cup race has been winnowed to four teams. The Carolina Hurricanes will face the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final (Game 1 goes Thursday) as the Vegas Golden Knights square off with the Dallas Stars for Western supremacy (series starts Friday). Expect these key players, two per squad, to influence who emerges from Round 3.

Note: Statistics are updated through the second round. Tracking data is courtesy of Sportlogiq.

Jonathan Marchessault Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Marchessault, the Golden Knights' franchise leader in goals and points, didn't score for seven games to open the playoffs, despite firing 23 pucks on net.

Bound to get rewarded, he bagged five goals on 23 shots over the next four outings. Marchessault's natural hat trick in the Round 2 clincher, which extinguished the Edmonton Oilers, showcased his wicked release and willingness to storm the crease.

Every Vegas forward line can attack with speed, strike off the cycle, and expose the opposing defense's vulnerabilities. The top trio - Jack Eichel between Marchessault and Ivan Barbashev - is the tip of the spear. Edmonton got outscored 7-1 in this combo's five-on-five shifts, according to Natural Stat Trick. Marchessault leads Vegas and ranks in the top 10 league-wide in slot shots, scoring chances off the rush, and individual expected goals.

Marchessault is one of six holdovers from the Golden Misfits expansion team that stunned the sport by surging to the 2018 Cup Final. He's delivered six multi-goal efforts in the playoffs since that year, the third-most in the NHL in the span, per Stathead. The chances he generates and finishes might lift Vegas to victory in another monumental game.

Adin Hill Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Laurent Brossoit's injury could have sunk Vegas last round. Instead, the opposite happened.

Hill - one of five netminders the Golden Knights have deployed in 2022-23 - replaced Brossoit partway through Game 3 and sparkled from that moment onward. Hill recorded a .934 save percentage against Edmonton, and he stopped 5.56 goals above expected, per Evolving Hockey.

The former Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks backup compiled a .915 save percentage over 27 appearances for Vegas in the regular season. Shelved in March with a lower-body ailment, the Oilers series was Hill's first action in two months. He celebrated his 27th birthday last week by starting in the playoffs for the first time.

Logan Thompson remains out with a lower-body injury. Jonathan Quick, the aging former Conn Smythe Trophy winner, was one of the NHL's shakiest goalies this season. Despite his inexperience, Hill is the Golden Knights' best healthy option. They can win the West if his sterling play persists.

Miro Heiskanen Christopher Mast / NHL / Getty Images

Cut on the cheek by an errant deflection, Heiskanen rocked a face shield for most of Dallas' seven-game slugfest with the Seattle Kraken.

Figuratively if not literally, Heiskanen looked fine. He skated for more than 30 minutes in Games 4 and 7, even though neither contest went to overtime. Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard is the only other player who's done that in regulation this spring.

The Stars lean on Heiskanen in all situations. He tops the playoffs in average ice time at even strength (23:33) and overall (28:15). Trailing Bouchard, Heiskanen ranks second among NHL blue-liners with nine assists and seven power-play points. No defenseman has won more puck battles at five-on-five than Heiskanen. He's also first at the position in blocked passes, third in stick checks, and seventh in zone denials, spoiling chances before they materialize.

A grizzled vet at 23 years old, Heiskanen has competed in 60 playoff games over five years. He's absorbed more hits - 61, or 4.69 per night - than any player in this postseason, per Natural Stat Trick. Heiskanen's stamina will be tested when he and 38-year-old partner Ryan Suter are tapped to contain the Marchessault line.

Max Domi Steph Chambers / Getty Images

Patrick Kane - Domi's former Chicago Blackhawks teammate - changed squads at the trade deadline. Timo Meier, Ryan O'Reilly, and Vladimir Tarasenko all joined prospective Cup contenders, as well. Ultimately, Domi outproduced each of these marquee acquisitions when it counted.

Domi was Chicago's top scorer when Dallas dealt for him in March, trading Anton Khudobin and a second-round pick. He's driven offense in the playoffs in a complementary role. Domi's 11 points have all come at even strength, tying him for the league lead in that phase with the likes of Florida's Matthew Tkachuk.

Domi intercepted a breakout pass and continually moved the puck up ice to assist three Joe Pavelski goals in the Kraken series opener. He sniped to the top corner and hustled to score into an empty net in Game 4. Domi also snapped back 57.1% of his draws across Rounds 1 and 2 to help Dallas lead the postseason in faceoff percentage.

Jason Robertson, the Stars' perennial 40-goal man, didn't find the back of the net against Seattle and only has two playoff tallies. But Roope Hintz has racked up nine goals, and Pavelski has eight. Slightly down the lineup, Domi's breakout has heightened Dallas' offensive ceiling.

Sergei Bobrovsky Claus Andersen / Getty Images

This is the Panthers' first conference final appearance since 1996. It's also unfamiliar territory for 34-year-old Bobrovsky, a historically up-and-down goalie who won the Vezina Trophy twice in his 20s but in his 30s has failed to live up to a mammoth contract. But "Bob" has been fantastic in the postseason.

Bobrovsky, who took over the crease after Game 3 of the first round, boasts a .920 save percentage in 10 contests. His goals saved above expected rate (0.21 per 60 minutes) ranks second among the 15 goalies with at least six games played. The Russian's signature outing so far: Game 2 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, when he turned aside 35 of 37 shots, including a handful of grade-A looks.

Carolina presents a different challenge than the Maple Leafs or New York Islanders. The Hurricanes rely on a relentless forecheck, launch shots from all areas of the offensive zone, and have made a habit of capitalizing on opponents' turnovers by counterstriking quickly off the rush. This smothering style could be trouble for Bobrovsky, who struggles with rebound control.

Sam Reinhart Eliot J. Schechter / Getty Images

The Panthers tend to keep Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov apart during five-on-five action. Why? The team's best players can each drive their own line.

Reinhart fills the same catalyst role on a highly effective third line alongside a pair of Finns - center Anton Lundell and left winger Eetu Luostarinen. Somewhat quietly, the ultra-smart Reinhart is tied for the team lead with six playoff goals.

Luostarinen-Lundell-Reinhart has won on the scoreboard (4-1 edge in goals) and territorially (3.7-2.8 expected goals) through 94 five-on-five minutes. The line's generated 11 scoring chances off the cycle, the most among Florida trios and fifth-most overall. The chemistry was palpable on the Game 3 overtime goal against Toronto, as Luostarinen set a pick for Reinhart on the zone entry, Reinhart rimmed the puck to Lundell for a give-and-go, and Reinhart finished with a wraparound. Game 2's 2-1 goal played out similarly.

Reinhart didn't appear in a single playoff game for Buffalo over his first seven NHL seasons. Now he's up to 22 after arriving in Florida via trade in 2021. An excellent two-way winger, the 27-year-old is hiding in plain sight on the Panthers' depth chart - a star in the bottom six. He's an East final X-factor.

Brent Burns Jaylynn Nash / Getty Images

"We love to chuck a good biscuit on net," Burns said moments after the Hurricanes clinched a second-round series win over the New Jersey Devils.

It was a perfect soundbite from the eccentric and electric defenseman.

Burns is a true reflection of Carolina's blue line, which contributed 59 goals in 82 regular-season games for a league-high 22.5% of the team's offense. In 11 playoff contests, the group of large defensemen has pitched in another seven.

Burns, who scored 18 goals while appearing in every regular-season game, has two tallies in the playoffs. He ranks first and second among blue-liners in shot attempts (101) and shots on goal (42). He's fired a shot on target from the perimeter 37 times and from the slot five times. Carolina's team-wide breakdown probably follows a similar pattern - more quantity than quality.

Put another way, the Canes' defensemen are heavily involved in the club's shot-happy attack. And Burns, acquired with salary retention last offseason from San Jose for an underwhelming package, is the straw that stirs the drink.

Jordan Staal Josh Lavallee / Getty Images

The East final matchup pits an offensive team (the Panthers) against a defensive team (Hurricanes). That contrast will be especially apparent during Staal's shifts, as he'll be tasked with neutralizing either Tkachuk or Barkov.

Staal, listed at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, is one of the strongest players in the NHL. This helps him win faceoffs (53.4% success rate over his career) and, more crucially shift to shift, frustrate opponents. Just ask Jack Hughes, who Staal schooled at even strength in the second round to the tune of a 4-0 edge in goals, 47-25 edge in shot attempts, and 6-1 edge in inner-slot shots.

Of course, the Panthers' stars aren't carbon copies of Hughes. Tkachuk's a 6-foot-2 agitating power winger, and Barkov's a 6-foot-3 cerebral distributor at center. Both of them are capable of pushing back against Staal's strength.

There's also a Staal family storyline. Jordan's brothers Marc and Eric will suit up for Florida, albeit in depth roles. The Thunder Bay, Ontario-based family - which crazily had a fourth brother, Jared, make the NHL - surely will be torn.

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