16 Dark Horses: A potential surprise hero for each Stanley Cup playoff team
Any team needs star players to make a deep postseason run. That said, great teams also tend to win the Stanley Cup on the strength of their depth, with surprising contributors stepping up every spring with timely goals, hits or saves.
Who are some dark horses to play important parts during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs? We present one pick from every team in the tournament.
Boston Bruins: Trent Frederic
The Bruins are experts at imposing their will and goading opponents into a scrappy brand of play. Getting inside their rivals’ heads will be more important than ever with Boston opening the playoffs on the road as a low seed. Frederic plays in the bottom half of the lineup but has a unique ability to agitate star players on opposing teams. Most famously, he infuriated Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin last season to the point Ovechkin speared Frederic in the nether regions, earning a $5,000 fine from the NHL Department of Player Safety. Look for Frederic to get physical early and often with his opponents’ marquee players again this postseason. At 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds, he also has the fierce physicality to finish what skirmishes he starts. He won’t show up on the scoresheet much but could play a crucial role in swinging momentum for his team. He graded out in the league’s 74th percentile in penalties drawn per 60 minutes this season. – MATT LARKIN
Calgary Flames: Dillon Dubé
Calgary is loaded with scoring talent. It’s a team that features four players with more than 35 goals each in Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau and Andrew Mangiapane. The Flames also have perennial 20-goal man Tyler Toffoli and proven playoff performer Blake Coleman. Those guys will carry the offensive load, but another good bet to come up with some big goals is Dillon Dubé. The speedy 23-year old winger gets overshadowed by his more lethal Flames’ peers, but he has potted 18 goals in just his second full season and he will enter the playoffs on a heater after scoring eight goals in his last nine games. He’s elusive, has good hands, and is annoying to play against. Those are the perfect attributes of a playoff hero. – CHRIS GEAR
Carolina Hurricanes: Jesperi Kotkaniemi
No, we didn’t pick him because he racked up three points in the first period of the Hurricanes’ final game of the regular season. But in truth it’s been a tumultuous year for the 21-year-old Kotkaniemi, who was the third-overall pick in the 2018 draft. First, he signed an offer sheet presented by the Hurricanes, which the team that drafted him, the Montreal Canadiens, did not match. He has worked through a couple of bouts with injuries and COVID-19 that limited him to 66 games, but he returned for Game 82 and was dynamic. Kotkaniemi has played for the most part at his natural position, center, which is where he fits long-term for the Hurricanes, who signed him to an eight-year extension worth $38.56 million. It gives the Metropolitan Division champs a formidable group down the middle with Sebastian Aho, Vincent Trocheck, captain Jordan Staal and the young Finn. Kotkaniemi’s size and offensive skills will be important for a Carolina team that will rely on a relentless rolling of four fast, determined forward units to generate offense against opponents who may possess greater individual skill. Kotkaniemi has been a regular on the team’s second power-play unit, and his ability to chase down pucks and create space in front will also be important for a Carolina team that saw its man-advantage success slide during the last quarter of the season. – SCOTT BURNSIDE
Colorado Avalanche: Nicolas Aube-Kubel
No player would qualify as a dark horse more than a guy acquired as a mid-season waiver pickup. Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who was inexplicably considered not able to play on a lowly and injury-riddled Philadelphia team, has been a great fit with the Avalanche. He has provided solid depth, and his aggressive forechecking has led to him being a guy the Avs don’t want to take out of their lineup. Aube-Kubel has chipped in 11 goals this year, and with playoff-style hockey about to commence, he figures to be a player who might get more ice time rather than less. Muckers and grinders tend to find ways to make big impacts in the playoffs, and Aube-Kubel is a guy I think can do exactly that. – CG
Dallas Stars: Denis Gurianov
If any team in the Stanley Cup playoffs needs depth scoring, it’s the Dallas Stars. And Denis Gurianov could be a major factor if he can reclaim the form he showed during the Stars’ run to the 2020 Stanley Cup final. He had 17 points in 27 games that postseason, including two game-winning goals. The Russian forward had 31 points in 73 games played this season – a down year compared to his first two full seasons in the NHL. Last year he had 30 points in 55 games. I think Gurianov’s speed serves him well, and he has a big shot. But he has to get to middle ice more often to be effective. If he can do that, this might be a breakout postseason for the 2015 first-round selection. – MIKE MCKENNA
Edmonton Oilers: Warren Foegele
Foegele is a gamer, one of the rare role players who has found a way to be more productive in the playoffs than he is in the regular season. He scores at 0.16 goals per game in the regular season and 0.21 in the playoffs. Three springs ago, as a rookie, he helped the Hurricanes reach the conference final by jumping from 15th to fifth in team scoring compared to the regular season. Foegele, 25, finished the season with a modest 12 goals – not bad considering his minute share – and was noticeably better down the stretch. There’s no guarantee he’ll be able to be as productive as he was as a Carolina rookie, but he fits the archetype of the exercise, a true dark horse candidate. – FRANK SERAVALLI
Florida Panthers: Spencer Knight
Sergei Bobrovsky was mostly sturdy tending goal for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Panthers in 2021-22. He won a league-high 39 games and finished with a .913 save percentage, more than good enough to act as a safety net for a team scoring four-plus goals per game. But we all remember what happened in the playoffs last season. After ‘Bob’ got blitzed for five goals on 14 shots in Game 4 of Florida’s first-round matchup against Tampa, then-coach Joel Quenneville turned to rookie Knight to start back-to-back elimination games, the first of which Knight won. Bobrovsky’s .899 career playoff save percentage ranks dead last among the 34 active goalies with at least 10 postseason games. If he struggles early and the Panthers, who are in Stanley-Cup-or-bust mode, fall behind in a series, the hook could be quick. Knight, who found his game with a .921 SV% from March 1 onward, could follow a long line of rookie netminders who have stolen jobs and made playoff magic, from Ken Dryden to Cam Ward to Matt Murray to Jordan Binnington. – ML
Los Angeles Kings: Trevor Moore
The Kings will only go as far as Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe and Phillip Danault can take them, but one interesting player to watch will be Trevor Moore. The 27-year old left winger has made steady progression in each of his three seasons since joining the Kings from Toronto in the trade that sent Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford to the Leafs. A good playoff could cement Moore’s position as a fixture in the Kings lineup for years to come. The last time he saw any real playoff action, it was as a member of the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, but he acquitted himself very nicely, especially in the 2017-18 Calder Cup championship, where he scored 17 points in 20 games, second only to Andreas Johnsson’s 24. With opponents’ focus rightly on the Kings’ bigger weapons, Moore is a guy that could come through for them in the clutch. – CG
Minnesota Wild: Joel Eriksson Ek
The Wild have no shortage of quality players, but beyond Kirill Kaprizov, it would be hard to identify a true superstar. That makes picking a dark horse a tall order. But I think Joel Eriksson Ek has a strong chance of making a big difference in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. During the stretch run in April, the Wild’s third-line center has had several multi-point games. He provides depth on the power play. Eriksson Ek has contributed 49 points in 77 games this season. And I can’t help but think back to the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs when he was a thorn in the side of the Vegas Golden Knights. Eriksson Ek was in the middle of every scrum and had the game-winner in the opening game of the series. He’s also an important penalty killer for Wild head coach Dean Evason. – MM
Nashville Predators: Alexandre Carrier
When you think of game-breaking defensemen in Nashville, Roman Josi is the first name that comes to mind. But the Predators have an underrated weapon in Carrier, who’s quietly posted 30 points in 77 games, 26 of which have come during 5-on-5 play. I think he’s one of the steadiest young defensemen in the NHL – which is proven out by his team-leading plus-26 rating. In his first full-time NHL season, Carrier has established himself a top-four defender. After four seasons marinating in the AHL, that says something. He knows what it takes to grind. Carrier might not score any game-winning goals, but he will be on the ice during big moments. He will play a critical role for the Predators in shutting down their first-round opponent. – MM
New York Rangers: Braden Schneider
You don’t need to talk to people around the New York Rangers for very long to hear the optimism and anticipation for what lies ahead for young defenseman Schneider. The 19th overall draft pick in 2020 has made a significant impact on the young Ranger blueline since coming up from Hartford of the American Hockey League with his robust style of play and high-end hockey IQ. Schneider is just 20 and, along with K’Andre Miller (22), Ryan Lindgren (24) and Adam Fox (24), represent a kind of generational defensive corps in place for a Ranger team looking to end a Stanley Cup drought that extends back to 1994. But we’re not talking future – we’re talking playoffs ’22. And assuming head coach Gerard Gallant, who coached Schneider at the World Championship last summer when Canada won gold and before Gallant took the Ranger coaching job, keeps the youngster in the lineup as opposed to going totally old school, Schneider will likely end up playing important third-pair minutes with veteran Patrik Nemeth or trade-deadline acquisition Justin Braun. This will be a terrific trial by fire for a young man who is already making a significant impact on a talented Ranger team. – SB
Pittsburgh Penguins: Kasperi Kapanen
If the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to somehow keep up offensively and win their first playoff round since capturing back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, they are going to need everyone going. Can’t just be the superlative Sidney Crosby or linemate Jake Guentzel or future Hall of Famer Evgeni Malkin. And so we come to the oft-lamented Kapanen, who as of this writing was tied for 8th on team scoring and had registered just one goal in his last 18 games. On the surface he’s more glue factory candidate than dark horse possibility, but bear with us. The 25-year-old 22nd overall pick of the Penguins in 2014 has all the tools, including good speed and a decent shot, to make a difference. He’s been up and down the lineup as head coach Mike Sullivan has tried to coax more production out of Kapanen using both the carrot and the stick with varying degrees of success. Kapanen will likely start on the third line with Jeff Carter and Jason Zucker, another player who could qualify as a dark horse for the Pens. Kapanen is also getting second power play looks and it’s possible playing deeper in the lineup with skilled players like Carter and Zucker will provide more favorable matchups and chances to take the play to the net as opposed to being a perimeter player, which has been the case for much of his tenure in Pittsburgh. The Pens certainly hope that’s going to be the case. – SB
St. Louis Blues: David Perron
Does Perron count? On a team with nine 20-goal scorers, how many can say that they’ve been the Blues’ best player over two separate stretches this season? Perron can. He started the year with 20 points in 22 games. He got hurt, missed a month, and slowed down with three points in 12 games. But then Perron went on a tear with 34 points in 30 games, the pending UFA turning back the clock at age 34. The funny thing about Perron as a dark horse is that he really struggled in his first six playoff runs with St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Anaheim. That run to the Cup final with Vegas in 2018 turned him into a playoff performer, and Perron followed that up the next year by helping the Blues to their first Stanley Cup in 2019. – FS
Tampa Bay Lightning: Nick Paul
The Brandon Hagel trade earned Lightning GM Julien BriseBois heaps of praise at the deadline. He’d found his new Blake Coleman or Barclay Goodrow, a 20-plus-goal-scorer at an affordable cap hit, signed for more than one season. Hagel, however, hasn’t made a major impact since arriving with the Bolts. The left winger Tampa acquired two days afterward has usurped him on the depth chart. Paul has chipped in five goals and 14 points in 21 games since the trade, averaging almost two hits per game. At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, he brings a heaviness that translates well to trench warfare in the postseason. If the Bolts make another long run, it will be on the backs of their superstars, but bet on Paul to establish himself as the latest in a series of depth forwards who’ve become folk heroes in Tampa for their clutch contributions.– ML
Toronto Maple Leafs: Timothy Liljegren
Not every first-round defenseman can be an instant phenom like Cale Makar. Take Liljegren, drafted 13 picks after Makar in 2017. Liljegren’s path to the NHL has been a long and winding road, repeatedly blocked by injuries, but he’s quietly just 22 and established himself as an important cog on the Leafs’ defense corps down the stretch. His puck-moving skill was his calling card as a prospect, but his defensive play evolved over the past couple years while he slow-cooked in the AHL, and he has formed a sturdy tandem with veteran Mark Giordano. With the two of them on the ice, Toronto scores 57 percent of the 5-on-5 goals. Between him, T.J. Brodie, Justin Holl and Ilya Lyubushkin, there’s competition to crack the starting lineup on the right side depending on the type of look coach Sheldon Keefe wants. Even if Liljegren somehow doesn’t suit up for Game 1, however, bet on him to find his way into the lineup and stick as an important piece who drives the play at even strength and kills penalties. – ML
Washington Capitals: Anthony Mantha
I’m not sure enough people have talked about the impact Anthony Mantha has had on the Capitals’ season. He missed 45 games from November through March. The Caps were 23-17-5 without him, an utterly average record, and they are 21-9-7 when he is in the lineup. He’s been a clear difference maker with 23 points in 36 games. My one real question mark with Mantha is his compete level. When he’s not engaged, his 6-foot-5 frame can be invisible. When he’s on the mark, he’s got the strength and skillset to be a postseason force. Given that Mantha has played just five total playoff games in his seven-year career, he should be plenty motivated. – FS
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