NHL rank: Top 50 players in the Stanley Cup playoffs
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ESPN staff
At the beginning of every NHL season, we publish NHL Rank, a project where ESPN’s hockey analysts vote to determine the best 100 players for the upcoming season.
Now that every team has completed its 82-game campaign and they’ve been whittled down to our 16-team Stanley Cup Playoff bracket, it’s time to redo the rankings, limiting the list to the top 50 players on playoff teams.
Here’s the playoff edition of ESPN NHL Rank, which seeks to identify the top forwards, defensemen and goaltenders in the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs. Dozens of voters participated, choosing one winner in a series of head-to-head voting matchups created from the players on the 16 postseason qualifiers.
The following list features NHL award winners, previous Stanley Cup champions and stars who are seeking that first taste of championship glory. As you’ll see, our voters made some interesting calls at the top regarding which players they believe are the best of the best in the 2023 NHL postseason.
2022-23 stats: 64 G | 89 A | 153 PTS
Preseason rank: 1
How does the player considered to be the most dominant in the world further cement his place within the game? Simple: By leading the NHL in goals (64), assists (89) and points (153). Those career-high figures are why McDavid is the front-runner for his third Hart Trophy.
Last year’s postseason saw McDavid break through for 10 goals and lead the league with 33 points over a 16-game run that saw the Oilers reach the Western Conference finals. McDavid carrying his career regular-season exploits into this year’s playoffs could see the Oilers go even further. — Ryan S. Clark
2022-23 stats: 42 G | 69 A | 111 PTS
Preseason rank: 4
Everything MacKinnon achieved in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs played a part in the Avs’ winning their third championship in team history. So often lauded for his pure pace, power and scoring ability, MacKinnon showed he can be an all-around threat to those not familiar with his game.
Injuries were a massive factor for the Avs this season, with MacKinnon missing 11 contests himself. But it did not prevent the 27-year-old from notching his first 100-point campaign while further reinforcing why the Avs could repeat as champions. — Clark
2022-23 stats: 43 G | 56 A | 99 PTS
Preseason rank: 45
There are several explanations for how the Devils ended a four-year playoff drought. Having Hughes is one of them. The 21-year-old’s gradual improvement exploded into a 99-point campaign that could have reached the century mark if not for his missing four games due to injury.
Still, Hughes was a major reason the Devils reached the playoffs and fell a point shy of winning the Metropolitan Division. Now it is a matter of seeing what Hughes will do next in his first postseason appearance.— Clark
2022-23 stats: 52 G | 76 A | 128 PTS
Preseason rank: 6
Because having only one player with a Hart Trophy and multiple 100-point seasons just isn’t enough in today’s economy. Draisaitl used this season to notch his third 50-goal campaign while also reaching the century club for the fourth time in his career, finishing with a personal-best 128 points.
His ability to create for himself and his teammates allowed Draisaitl to lead all players in assists while finishing second in points last postseason (32). It reaffirms the notion that these playoffs have a chance to be special for the Oilers. — Clark
2022-23 stats: 40-6-1 | 1.89 GAA | .938 SV%
Preseason rank: NR
Seven. That’s how many combined regulation and overtime losses Ullmark had in what was one of the strongest individual campaigns in the NHL this season. Ullmark’s second season with the Bruins showed his importance to a team that’s trying to parlay a historic regular season into one that could end with Boston hoisting a Stanley Cup.
Ullmark went 0-2 with a 4.17 goals-against average and a .860 save percentage in last year’s playoffs. But if Ullmark can carry his regular-season exploits into this year’s postseason? It could lead to the Bruins winning their seventh Stanley Cup in team history. — Clark
2022-23 stats: 61 G | 52 A | 113 PTS
Preseason rank: 21
Pastrnak continued to strengthen his place in the discussion as the most dangerous winger in the NHL. His 61 goals are proof that he’s an even more lethal scorer, while his 52 assists show he’s a problem when he’s creating for others.
It all amounts to Pastrnak being a Hart Trophy hopeful who has been one of the biggest reasons the Bruins are a legitimate Stanley Cup challenger. For his career, he is averaging more than a point per game over 70 playoff contests, numbers he could boost this postseason. — Clark
7. Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche
2022-23 stats: 17 G | 49 A | 66 PTS
Preseason rank: 2
He’s the reigning Conn Smythe and Norris Trophy winner who does everything required of a contemporary top-four defenseman — he can facilitate play, log heavy minutes, orchestrate a power play and be a trusted member of a penalty kill. Injuries played a massive part in the dip of Makar’s regular-season statistics.
But when he was healthy, he led the league in average ice time and was forced to take on an expanded role to help the Avs circumvent their perpetual injury woes. Seeing what Makar does for a follow-up act could be the key in the Avs winning a second consecutive Stanley Cup. — Clark
2022-23 stats: 9 G | 40 A | 49 PTS
Preseason rank: 8
It’s hard to argue any defenseman is more vital to his team’s success than Hedman. The Lightning have played more hockey than anyone the past three seasons — three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final will do that — and Hedman has been the same stalwart presence leading Tampa Bay from the back end.
This season he has crushed major top-pairing minutes (23:43 per night) again, and added offensively (49 points in 76 games). At 32, Hedman continues adjusting his game to work smarter, not harder, so he can keep shutting down the next wave of snipers hoping to knock Tampa Bay off track. — Kristen Shilton
2022-23 stats: 40 G | 45 A | 85 PTS
Preseason rank: 3
Even a so-called down year for Matthews is still superior. The Maple Leafs’ top center didn’t approach the 60-goal mark again this season, but he did notch 40 for the fifth time in his seven NHL campaigns, while averaging 1.15 points per game. Matthews has the ability to elevate those around him and is at his best bringing a strong two-way game nightly for the Leafs.
The 25-year-old also possesses one of the league’s most lethal, unpredictable shots, and when he’s rolling, remains a goalie’s worst nightmare and a matchup problem against any opponent. — Shilton
2022-23 stats: 12 G | 60 A | 72 PTS
Preseason rank: 23
Fox won the Norris Trophy in his second season in the NHL and has gotten even better since then. The 25-year-old drives play at 5-on-5, quarterbacks the team’s powerful power play and is effective in his own end as well.
Fox had 72 points in 82 games for the Rangers; while those aren’t bonkers Erik Karlsson numbers, they could be good enough to get Fox back into the Norris top three. — Greg Wyshynski
2022-23 stats: 30 G | 83 A | 113 PTS
Preseason rank: 5
The NHL is rife with playmakers — but few can touch Kucherov in that category. The Lightning winger was second only to McDavid in assists this season (83), racked up a cool 113 points and kept Tampa Bay’s offense humming in a challenging season of ups and downs for the team. Kucherov is the kind of difference-maker who can take over an entire game, single-handedly throw an opponent off course or come through with that timely play to secure a playoff outcome.
He has done it all before, and it’s why Kucherov perennially remains a feared, fierce presence on the ice. — Shilton
2022-23 stats: 34-22-4 | 2.65 GAA | .915 SV%
Preseason rank: 10
It seems impossible Vasilevskiy is just 28 years old. Tampa Bay’s starter has won everything from Vezina Trophies to Stanley Cups to Conn Smythe honors. Since 2018-19, Vasilevskiy has paced the NHL in playoff wins (48) with a .925 SV% and 2.18 GAA and has carried the Lightning to loftier heights than the franchise might have ever imagined.
Vasilevskiy constantly shows an ability to flip the switch even during difficult stretches, and when victory is on the line — particularly in the postseason — Tampa Bay’s No. 1 is known to deliver the knockout, shutout punch his team requires to stay on top. — Shilton
2022-23 stats: 7 G | 45 A | 52 PTS
Preseason rank: 34
McAvoy brings it all for the Bruins. Elite, top-pairing defensive pedigree with shutdown capability? Check. Ability to log important minutes at 5-on-5, on the power play and penalty kill? You bet. Contributes offensively on the score sheet? No question (52 points in 67 games this season).
If Boston has a jack-of-all-trades, it’s McAvoy. At 25 years old he already has proved to be a top-10, if not top-5, blueliner in the NHL and even great years like the one his teammate Hampus Lindholm is having on the Bruins’ back end can’t snuff out how critical McAvoy is to Boston’s success. — Shilton
2022-23 stats: 36 G | 31 A | 67 PTS
Preseason rank: 22
There’s a reason Aho is Carolina’s MVP season after season. The 25-year-old rarely seems to be rattled. His 36 goals this season marked the fourth time he has passed the 30-goal plateau and his 26 even-strength scores were a career best as well. Aho is consistent (averaging nearly 20 minutes TOI per game), but he can also wield enough flash to rank with any of the NHL’s other dynamic performers.
When the Hurricanes need someone to come through, they can more often than not count on Aho to create a game-changing moment. — Shilton
2022-23 stats: 21 G | 46 A | 67 PTS
Preseason rank: 43
Everyone loves to hate Marchand, but any player outside the Bruins would want the winger on his side. Marchand can be both a get-under-your-skin pest and a first-class scoring threat, bowling a guy over before blowing past a goaltender.
It’s a unique line few players in the league can or would even try to balance on. Marchand has made a career in that dual space, and it’s a key to the 34-year-old’s longevity, as he’s still among Boston’s best performers (sitting second in points this season). — Shilton
2022-23 stats: 34 G | 50 A | 84 PTS
Preseason rank: 20
Stamkos hit a pair of career milestones this season in recording his 500th goal and 1,000th point. His production declined from last season, but that’s all relative when you’re Steven Stamkos: The 33-year-old captain had 84 points in 81 games as the Lightning pushed for a fourth straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final. — Wyshynski
2022-23 stats: 55 G | 50 A | 105 PTS
Preseason rank: 24
The Avalanche saw their lineup ravaged by injuries after winning the Stanley Cup last postseason, with players like Makar missing time and captain Gabriel Landeskog out for the season.
Only four Colorado players appeared in all 82 games, and Rantanen clearly had the greatest impact. The winger set a new career high for goals (55) and points (105), breaking the century mark for the first time. He scored 42 of those goals at even strength, buoyed by an increase in shot volume (306 on the season). The Avs won the Central again, and Rantanen was a primary reason. — Wyshynski
18. Brayden Point, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
2022-23 stats: 51 G | 44 A | 95 PTS
Preseason rank: 26
Point is a soft-spoken player, so it’s only appropriate that his career-best offensive season seemingly flew under everyone’s radar. The 27-year-old center had 51 goals and 95 points, playing all 82 games for the Lighting. His days as a burgeoning Selke candidate have passed, but Point reestablished himself as an offensive force this season. — Wyshynski
2022-23 stats: 31 G | 49 A | 80 PTS
Preseason rank: NR
Hischier’s rise has been a slow burn. Before this season, the Devils’ captain was a solid two-way skater and reliable playmaker. This season, Hischier turned up the heat.
In his sixth NHL campaign, New Jersey’s top pivot started shooting more and generating offense from quality areas to be a bona fide threat on both sides of the puck. Hischier is impressive on the cycle, too, adding dimension for a Devils team that loves scoring off the rush. The harder Hischier remains to match up against, the better for New Jersey. He’s showing that capability more and more. — Shilton
2022-23 stats: 37-13-8 | 2.48 GAA | .916 SV%
Preseason rank: 11
Shesterkin followed his Vezina Trophy win with another strong season for the Rangers. The 27-year-old netminder posted a .916 save percentage and a 2.48 goals-against average to backstop the Rangers back to the postseason after leading them to the Eastern Conference final. He was fifth in the NHL in goals saved above average. One of the few goalies in the playoffs that could win a series on his own. — Wyshynski
2:10
Who is the Bruins’ biggest threat to hoisting the Stanley Cup?
P.K. Subban points to the Oilers as the Bruins’ biggest Stanley Cup threat and speaks to the greatness of Connor McDavid.
2022-23 stats: 46 G | 63 A | 109 PTS
Preseason rank: 30
2022-23 stats: 10 G | 43 A | 53 PTS
Preseason rank: 76
2022-23 stats: 40 G | 35 A | 75 PTS
Preseason rank: 7
2022-23 stats: 11 G | 62 A | 73 PTS
Preseason rank: 28
2022-23 stats: 40 G | 69 A | 109 PTS
Preseason rank: 19
2022-23 stats: 37-25-2 | 2.49 GAA | .920 SV%
Preseason rank: 46
27. Mitch Marner, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs
2022-23 stats: 30 G | 69 A | 99 PTS
Preseason rank: 12
2022-23 stats: 17 G | 21 A | 38 PTS
Preseason rank: 42
2022-23 stats: 39 G | 52 A | 91 PTS
Preseason rank: 16
2022-23 stats: 27 G | 31 A | 58 PTS
Preseason rank: 51
2022-23 stats: 31-22-7 | 2.34 GAA | 0.924 SV%
Preseason rank: 82
2022-23 stats: 22 G | 52 A | 74 PTS
Preseason rank: 63
2022-23 stats: 29 G | 63 A | 92 PTS
Preseason rank: 18
2022-23 stats: 40 G | 47 A | 87 PTS
Preseason rank: 89
35. Jack Eichel, C, Vegas Golden Knights
2022-23 stats: 27 G | 39 A | 66 PTS
Preseason rank: 25
36. Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina Hurricanes
2022-23 stats: 7 G | 20 A | 27 PTS
Preseason rank: 69
37. Patrick Kane, RW, New York Rangers
2022-23 stats: 21 G | 36 A | 57 PTS
Preseason rank: 40
38. Shea Theodore, D, Vegas Golden Knights
2022-23 stats: 8 G | 33 A | 41 PTS
Preseason rank: HM
2022-23 stats: 37-11-11 | 2.37 GAA | .919 SV%
Preseason rank: 88
2022-23 stats: 37 G | 38 A | 75 PTS
Preseason rank: NR
2022-23 stats: 23 G | 49 A | 72 PTS
Preseason rank: 57
2022-23 stats: 29-14-5 | 2.75 GAA | .914 SV%
Preseason rank: NR
43. Timo Meier, RW, New Jersey Devils
2022-23 stats: 40 G | 26 A | 66 PTS
Preseason rank: NR
2022-23 stats: 23 G | 55 A | 78 PTS
Preseason rank: 9
2022-23 stats: 37 G | 67 A | 104 PTS
Preseason rank: NR
2022-23 stats: 10 G | 54 A | 64 PTS
Preseason rank: 75
47. Evander Kane, LW, Edmonton Oilers
2022-23 stats: 16 G | 12 A | 28 PTS
Preseason rank: 100
2022-23 stats: 12 G | 31 A | 43 PTS
Preseason rank: 62
49. Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
2022-23 stats: 4 G | 37 A | 41 PTS
Preseason rank: 79
50. Anze Kopitar, C, Los Angeles Kings
2022-23 stats: 28 G | 46 A | 74 PTS
Preseason rank: 91
MILWAUKEE — The Cincinnati Reds lost 1-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night to become only the second team in the live-ball era (since 1920) to lose three consecutive 1-0 games.
The Reds joined the Philadelphia Phillies, who lost three straight in the same fashion in 1960, according to ESPN Research.
“Nobody’s happy with what’s happened the last three games,” Reds manager Terry Francona said after the string of 1-0 losses continued in the opener of a four-game series at Milwaukee. “We’ll figure it out together. I feel strongly about that.”
Cincinnati’s lineup showcased its potential Monday in a 14-3 victory over the Texas Rangers, but the Reds haven’t scored since.
Texas’ Nathan Eovaldi outdueled Carson Spiers on Tuesday. Jack Leiter and four Texas relievers combined for 10 strikeouts Wednesday as the Reds wasted a brilliant performance from Hunter Greene.
Milwaukee’s Nestor Cortes shut down Cincinnati on Thursday, allowing one hit, striking out six and walking two over six innings.
Cincinnati’s Nick Lodolo gave up four hits and one unearned run in 6⅔ innings Thursday, but he took the loss because the Reds mustered just two hits.
“It’s part of the game, you know?” Lodolo said. “I’ll be honest with you. Obviously I want us to score, but I’m not really thinking about it. I’ve got to do my job at the end of the day, regardless. We’ll turn it around. I guarantee that.”
That’s the attitude Francona wants to see from his pitchers as Cincinnati’s hitters try to break out of their slump.
“We’re not going to have a situation where it’s ‘us’ when we win and it’s ‘they’ when we lose,” Francona said. “We’ll do this together.”
Francona said there’s no common thread between the games that explains his lineup’s struggles. The Reds have faced different styles of pitchers each time.
Eovaldi is a veteran right-hander who went the distance while allowing four hits and no walks. Leiter’s a hard-throwing rookie right-hander. Cortes, a veteran left-hander, doesn’t have the velocity of Eovaldi or Leiter but effectively mixed his cutter and changeup with his fastball.
Cincinnati’s struggles Thursday may have been particularly frustrating because Cortes looked so awful in his last start, a 20-9 loss to the New York Yankees. Cortes allowed homers on each of his first three pitches that day and ended up yielding eight hits and five walks in two innings of a game that drew attention to the Yankees’ use of “torpedo bats.”
The Reds made Cortes look like an entirely different pitcher.
“It was embarrassing, what happened to me last time,” Cortes said. “I think, as a starter, you’ve got 30 or 32 of these. There’s going to be a lot of bad ones throughout the way. You’ve just got to learn how to brush them off and go to the next one. That’s what I did.”
The Reds’ lone hit off Cortes came from Jose Trevino, who delivered a one-out double in the third off his former Yankees teammate. Cincinnati’s only other hit Thursday was a single by Jeimer Candelario off Elvis Peguero in the seventh.
Cincinnati has a combined nine hits, three walks and 27 strikeouts during the skid.
“To be totally honest, you see this all the time throughout a baseball season,” Trevino said. “Pitchers will pick up the hitters and the hitters will pick up the pitchers. It will all switch at some point. We’re going to need them. They’re going to need us. And at some point, we’re all going to be together. That’s just how the baseball season goes.
“Right now, our pitchers are doing really well and our hitters, we’re grinding. It’s not like we’re out there trying to give outs away. We’re out there putting some good at-bats together. We’re going to turn this thing around. I have full confidence in this team.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who slipped and fell in the shower Sunday morning, was put on the injured list for his ankle injury, the team announced Thursday.
The move is retroactive to Monday. He hasn’t played since Saturday and is 3-for-12 this season with two home runs and four RBIs.
The incident happened at home during the Dodgers’ off day. Freeman’s wife had to drive him to Dodger Stadium on Sunday for a three-hour treatment session. By the time it was over, he was able to drive himself home. An X-ray showed no serious damage.
Freeman sprained his right ankle on a play at first base in late September and struggled in the first two rounds of the postseason, but it was hardly evident during the World Series. He homered in the first four games and had 12 RBIs, earning the World Series MVP award as the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games.
He had debridement surgery in December to remove loose bodies in the ankle.
The Dodgers (8-0) begin a three-game series at the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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