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What Makes the Playoffs So Special?
Volume 3: Surprise Playoff Performers

By Chris Kober  |  Hockeytalk.biz

MAY 5, 2011 -- One of the great things about the playoffs is seeing players come from seemingly nowhere to impress when the games matter the most. Whenever the playoff previews come out and predictions are being made it’s often the “intangibles” and the elusive qualities of heart and/or passion that distinguish one team from another, especially with the current state of competitive balance in the league today. It is with these types of performances that we can actually see that concept in action.

Whether it’s a young player coming out of his shell on the big stage, a third line grinder chipping in clutch scoring or just someone finally getting some national exposure for what they do, surprise playoff performances are an essential part of a long playoff run and have a tendency to be quite favorable to an individual’s bank account over the summer at that.

2008 was a debutant ball of sorts for Johan Franzen as he put up 13 goals and 18 points in 16 games, helping the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup and in turn becoming the heir apparent to Tomas Holmstrom in Detroit. Max Talbot’s two goals in game seven of the 2009 finals made him nothing short of a folk hero in Pittsburgh. Last year we saw Jaroslav Halak dominate two of the most dynamic offenses in the league to become one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL and his post-season hasn’t disappointed in the surprise playoff performer category either.

Chris Higgins was brought into Vancouver at the trade deadline to bolster the fourth line and has opened the scoring in each of the Canucks’ playoff series this year. Both of those goals (he has three thus far in the playoffs) turned out to be game winners as well with Roberto Luongo putting up shutouts in each of Vancouver’s game ones. In addition to the depth scoring that Higgins has added, his line with Maxim Lapierre (also a Mike Gillis deadline acquisition) and Jannik Hansen has been a force to reckon with on the forecheck for the Canucks throughout the playoffs providing the kind of offensive zone puck possession and physicality that is invaluable in the playoffs.

Aaron Asham of the Pittsburgh Penguins started the playoffs on a tear with a point in each of the team’s first four games versus Tampa Bay. They may not have been game winners but when Asham, a fourth line tough guy, was scoring for the Pens they lead the series 3-1. When he stopped producing they dropped the final three games of the series, bowing out to the Lightning in seven. Coincidence? I think not.

Without their top two centers, who just so happen to be among the top five players in the world depending on who you ask, Pittsburgh needed production from every corner of the roster. Head Coach and Jack Adams Finalist Dan Bylsma was able to get it during the second half of the regular season, but it may have just been a little bit too much to ask for an extended period in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay did get that kind of production throughout the series, and they continue to as Sean Bergenheim’s league leading seven goals and eight points have been huge for the Lightning, especially while Steven Stamkos has been held relatively quiet early on in the post-season. His line mates, Steve Downie and Dominic Moore are also both impressive playoff performers in their own rights this season with score lines of 2-10-12 and 2-6-8 respectively.

Downie has rehabilitated his image from a his days as a reckless suspension waiting to happen during his time with the Flyers to become a very serviceable forechecker, playing on the top line with Stamkos and Martin St. Louis for large portions of this season. Meanwhile, Moore has carved out a niche for himself in Tampa, putting up 32 points this season on his fifth team in three years and the eighth stop of his seven year NHL career. The line’s chemistry has even produced a signature goal of this post season.

In game six of Tampa Bay’s first round series against Pittsburgh, Moore swung around behind the Pens’ goal and reversed a backhand pass to Bergenheim who deposited the puck into a wide open net while Marc-Andre Fleury was looking the other way in anticipation of a wraparound from Moore. The goal was duplicated almost exactly for the lone tally of game seven that sent Tampa on to round two.

Bergenheim also had two goals in Tampa’s game four victory over Washington on Wednesday that swept the East’s top seed out of the playoffs. Showing that Bergenheim, and his line mates, can produce at such critical moments that they’ve almost become the Lightning’s primary offensive threat.

Half of the Nashville Predators’ lineup could be categorized as surprise playoff performers, considering how little exposure the team gets on a national stage. Joel Ward leads the team with four goals and seven points in the playoffs. Nick Spaling scored both of his goals to date in the deciding game six of Nashville’s first round victory over Anaheim. Checking center/disturber Jarred Smithson scored what may be the biggest goal thus far in Predators history against the Ducks in overtime of game five. Matt Halischuck potted an OT game winner for the Preds in game two versus Vancouver and has a shocking shooting percentage of 100%, scoring both of his shots on goal so far in the playoffs. Human wrecking ball, Jordin Tootoo even has five points on the post-season after a rough year personally in which he enrolled himself in the league’s substance abuse and behavioral health program.

While all of those points regarding the Preds are individually unexpected, depth of scoring is more important for them than perhaps for any other team in the playoffs. It was, without a doubt, the difference in the series with Anaheim, who relied on Teemu Selanne, Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf for 13 of their 20 goals, while getting three from the marginally surprising Jason Blake.

Year after year Preds’ Head Coach Barry Trotz is given token consideration for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year for “doing so much with so little.” The consistent ability of Trotz and his staff to make this team a perennial playoff contender despite losing players to budget constraints seemingly every year is truly impressive. This year, however, the players have rewarded him and the vastly underrated fans of ‘Smashville’ with some clutch playoff performances to get them over the hump and into the second round for the first time.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Philadelphia Flyers were almost too deep and star-studded up front for James van Riemsdyk to stand out last year as a rookie and throughout this regular season. JVR, as he is affectionately known in Philly, has already eclipsed his playoff point total from last season (3-3-6 in 21 games) with seven goals through nine games.

Van Riemsdyk’s pair of goals in game three Monday provided the Flyers’ only scoring, but he was such a force each and every shift that the stellar goaltending of Tim Thomas was the only thing keeping him from a Franzen-esque multi-goal game. The second overall pick in the 2007 Draft behind Patrick Kane, van Riemsdyk is coming into his own. He’s looking like one of the league’s future preeminent power forwards this post-season and proving that it probably was a good idea to stay an extra year at the University of New Hampshire in 2009 when the team wanted him in the lineup or in the American League.

San Jose defenseman Niclas Wallin scored his fourth career playoff goal on Sunday, all of which have been game winners (the previous three in Overtime!). He's come through with clutch goals so often that he was even given the nickname 'The Secret Weapon' during his days in Carolina. It remains to be seen whether or not any of the guys above will rise to Wallin or Franzen levels of playoff production on a regular basis but for now they're proving to be crucial components to their teams' success.