After falling short in the Stanley Cup Final last year, franchise center Aleksander Barkov has the Florida Panthers in prime position to get the job done this time around.
Fresh off a Selke Trophy win as the best defensive forward in the league, the Finnish centerman is looking to add some more well-deserved hardware to his trophy case.
The second overall pick from the 2013 NHL Entry Draft has been building toward this moment for a long time, and he needs just eight more wins to deliver Florida its first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
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Aleksander Barkov is a Conn Smythe Favorite
Barkov and the Panthers had dipped their collective toes into the playoff water before last season, having appeared four times and won one round in Barkov's career through 2022.
Then last year, everything went up a notch. The Panthers struggled through the regular season but barely squeaked in as a wild card. They upset Boston and then handled Toronto and Carolina before falling to Vegas in the Stanley Cup Final.
Barkov was excellent, putting up 16 points in 21 games with a plus-5 rating against four high quality opponents.
The mission was always to come back this year and take it a step further, and so far Barkov has done his part, taking his offensive game to another level.
In 11 games so far this postseason, Barkov has already nearly matched his output from last year with 13 points and a plus-4 rating. The Panthers handled rival Tampa Bay and then beat a less-imposing version of the Boston team they stunned last year.
Now, the New York Rangers stand in the way of the Panthers and another shot at the Stanley Cup.
The Rangers struggled at even-strength in their second round matchup against Carolina, and Barkov absolutely thrives at 5-on-5, where he should be an even bigger mismatch against New York than the Hurricanes' top guns were.
With Barkov on the ice at 5-on-5, the Panthers are controlling 58.8% of the expected goals, a monstrous number that makes sense given his physical dominance, singular hockey sense, and ability to control the puck on both ends of the rink.
If the Finn can get to his game consistently against the Rangers, look for the Panthers to dominate zone time, tiring out New York defenders and generating chance after chance against an exploitable Blueshirt defense.
If the Panthers win this series, it will likely be because Barkov was too much of a force to overcome. He's been that for a long time now, and a Stanley Cup win and Conn Smythe would move him toward legendary status.
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