Top-5 Playoff-season performances 2010 -- now

[The Panther]

I can't help but notice how Brayden Point is becoming the new playoff-Mike Bossy! That guy is just money in big games the past two seasons. I thought Point was the real Conn Smythe winner last year (not that Hedman wasn't deserving). Point put up 14 goals, 33 points, and a +12 (and missed two games), while winning 57% of face-offs. He was a beast! (So was Kucherov, with 34 points.)

In samples of more than 15 games, Point in 2020 had the highest playoff PPG from 2010 to now.

So, anyway, I was wondering how people would rank the top playoff-season performances from 2010 to now?

In terms of PPG of players (who made the third round) or better, the tops have been:
1.64 Kucherov 2021 (still in progress)
1.43 Point 2020
1.36 Kucherov 2020
1.33 Kuznetsov 2018
1.32 Toews 2010
1.30 Briere 2010

In terms of total scoring points in a playoff year, the tops have been:
34 Kucherov 2020
33 Point 2020
32 Kuznetsov 2018
30 Couture 2016
30 Briere 2010

In terms of top-scoring defencemen (total points), the tops have been:
26 Heiskanen 2020
24 Burns 2016
22 Hedman 2020
21 Klingberg 2020
21 Keith 2015

In terms of goalies' save-percentage (those who made at least the third round), the tops have been:
.946 Quick 2012
.944 Smith 2012
.940 Thomas 2011
.940 Rask 2013
.935 Vasilevsky (still in progress)

In terms of plus/minus (making the third round at least), the tops have been:
+20 Horton 2013
+17 Orpik 2018
+16 Keith 2015
+16 Chara 2011
+16 Brown 2012
+16 Kopitar 2012

And, of course, the Conn Smythe winners have been:
2010 Toews
2011 Thomas
2012 Quick
2013 Kane
2014 Williams
2015 Keith
2016 Crosby
2017 Crosby
2018 Ovechkin
2019 O'Reilly
2020 Hedman


What would be your top 5?

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[Big Phil]

I start with Conn Smythe winners. If I had to pick 5, I don't think it is all the Smythe winners because Tampa had 3 players easily who could be on here from 2020 alone.

But here it goes:
Point (honestly I swore he was taking the Smythe)
Kucherov
Hedman
Thomas
Crosby (2017)

Keith is probably the next one. That was such a great run.

 

[Sadekuuro]

Point (honestly I swore he was taking the Smythe)

Hard to argue against Hedman but yeah, I would have picked Point as well.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Hedman good, 2015 Keith better, Erik Karlsson best.

 

[VanIslander]

2013 David Krejci (the world slept on his awesome play)
2019 Brad Marchand
2018 Evgeny Kuznetsov

The BEST may not be the most popular.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Hard to argue against Hedman but yeah, I would have picked Point as well.

Hedman had 10 goals! A defenseman. In the playoffs.

But Point could have won it.

 

[Big Phil]

2013 David Krejci (the world slept on his awesome play)
2019 Brad Marchand
2018 Evgeny Kuznetsov

The BEST may not be the most popular.

Two of them were on the losing side of the Cup final. The other won but didn't win the Conn Smythe.

I get the feeling Marchand was winning the Conn Smythe if Boston won that 7th game, or was it Rask that was assumed to win it? I always thought it was Marchand. So I agree, great postseason, but top 5 in the last decade? I can't say so.

I guess you can agree Krejci may have had the best overall postseason that spring, but I had the feeling Bergeron was the one they were picking in a Bruins Cup win. Just from memory at least.

I actually figured Holtby was going to maybe win the Smythe over Ovechkin. Not Kuznetsov. Here is how I think it shook down. Ovechkin had 15 goals, he was on fire, he was throwing his body around a lot that postseason as well. He's going to get a little bit more of a benefit of the doubt to win an award if he is at least close to having the best postseason, and he did. I'll say this, Kuznetsov put up a lot of points and to his credit he spread them out over the entire playoffs. He was a force in each postseason.

 

[KingDeathMetal]

Don't know about 3-5. but the two best I ever witnessed (and I admittedly didn't watch all of these years with equal attention when my team was eliminated), were Quick in 2012 and Keith in 2015.

 

[Gurglesons]

I think Letang should've won the Smythe in 2016. He had a great first three rounds although his play dipped a little in the ECF, but he basically want on another level in the SCF culminating in an absolute beauty of an individual effort on the GWG in G6.

When I look at Keith or Hedman, I see much deeper d-cores compared to what was essentially a rookie Dumoulin and a bunch of meh in 2016.

Kopitar in 2014 instead of Williams is also one I'll defend forever.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

I seem to recall Keiths 2015 was considered incredible in terms of the amount of icetime he ate up, and the matchups he took.

 

[The Macho King]

I think Letang should've won the Smythe in 2016. He had a great first three rounds although his play dipped a little in the ECF, but he basically want on another level in the SCF culminating in an absolute beauty of an individual effort on the GWG in G6.

When I look at Keith or Hedman, I see much deeper d-cores compared to what was essentially a rookie Dumoulin and a bunch of meh in 2016.

Kopitar in 2014 instead of Williams is also one I'll defend forever.

The Blackhawks barely played their third pair in 2015 (seriously - I think in the Finals they averaged less than 5 minutes a game).

Also - who cares about depth in that circumstance? That just makes the other matchups better - it doesn't impact what those players do.

 

[Gurglesons]

The Blackhawks barely played their third pair in 2015 (seriously - I think in the Finals they averaged less than 5 minutes a game).

Also - who cares about depth in that circumstance? That just makes the other matchups better - it doesn't impact what those players do.

Wasn’t meant to be a slight.