NHL Playoffs: These players will be key to first round victories

The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs can be some of the most exciting hockey of the postseason. Anything can happen and there are always a few players who make the key difference, here's who we think will be important this year around.

If the Panthers are going to have any chance of advancing past Boston in the first round they're going to need Tkachuk to be playing at the top of his game. Florida will need to be making plays, especially since Linus Ullmark suited up for practice on April 15th, meaning he's probably going to be in the net from Game 1. 

There isn’t one singlr player you could pick from the Bruins right now whose performance would guarantee a first-round win, everybody is hot coming off a record-breaking season. Maybe a poor showing from Ullmark could hurt Boston, but their blue line is so strong it probably wouldn’t make a difference. 

Aho is both a goal scorer and a playmaker, which is exactly what the Hurricanes will need if they’re going to break New York’s defense. The Islanders were one of the top five defensive teams this year so finding a way to beat Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock is going to be key. 

With Ilya Sorokin in the net and Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri covering the offensive, the deciding factor for New York is probably going to be Bo Horvat and his ability to adapt. Will Horvat continue to shoot first? Or will he become the playmaker the Islanders need this postseason? 

Shesterkin is arguably the best goalie in the world according to Pro Hockey Rumors Josh Cybulski, and it will be up to him to stop New Jersey’s offense. “Shesterkin will need to play at a Vezina Award-winning level.”

The Devils picked up Timo Meier for exactly this postseason situation. If New Jersey wants to advance they’re going to need Meier’s talent to beat Shesterkin. 

If Mackinnon and Rantanen play the way they played in the regular season then Colorado will have no problem sweeping the Seattle Kraken in the first round. 

Seattle won’t have a chance if they can’t find a way to stop the Avalanche’s offense. The Kraken’s blue line allowed the fifth-fewest expected goals in the regular season according to the Daily Faceoff. So if Vince Dunn, Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, and Justin Schult can do that well again in the first round then they have a chance. 

The first round between the Stars and the Minnesota Wild is going to come down to goals, which is why Joe Pavelski’s experience and his 49 assists this season are going to be crucial. Dallas will need to make plays and Pavelski will need to be the one doing it. 

The same goal-scoring logic applies to Minnesota in the first round against Dallas, and with Joel Eriksson Ek out with a lower-body injury, the bulk of the goal-scoring is probably going to have to come from Kaprizov. If Dallas can shut Kaprizov down then Matt Bodly, Frederick Gaudreau, and Mats Zuccarello will have to pick up the slack. 

The battle between Las Vegas and the Winnipeg Jets is going to come down to their goaltenders. According to Sports Nation, no player on either team was able to average a point per game so the struggle will come down to which goalie stops more shots. Will that be Laurent Brossoit?

As we just stated, beating Las Vegas is going to come down to which goalie performs better, which makes Hellebuyck Winnipeg's most important player in the first round. 

You might have thought Connor McDavid was a shoo-in for Edmonton’s key player against Los Angeles. But the Kings know McDavid needs to be shut down, which is why they’re going to have him covered all series. As the number two scorer and playmaker for the Oilers this year, Draisaitl is probably going to be far more important. 

If the Kings are going to beat Edmonton this year then everything is going to need to be working in their favor. Phoenix Copley and LA’s defensive line will need to be hot while Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala will need to be having some of the best-scoring games of their postseason careers. It’s definitely not going to be an easy series to win…

Ilya Samsonov just had the best season of his career and if he can carry that momentum into the postseason then there's a good chance Toronto can make it past Tampa Bay in the first round. 

If Tampa Bay is going to have any chance of advancing out of the first round then they’re going to need to bombard Toronto's net with shots. Stamkos, Point, and Kucherov need to perform—something they haven't really done since late February.