By: Chris Nosek

As we turn to the third round of the NHL playoffs, lets take a look at the race for the Conn Smyth as it stands right now, and who ranks in the top-5 for the trophy at this time.

5. Thomas Harley

If you haven’t been watching the Stars this postseason then what Harley is accomplishing would appear diminished. Yes, he’s only produced 6 points over the teams 9 games this postseason, but this doesn’t tell his entire story. In the absence of Miro Heiskanen, Harley has become the Stars’ top defenseman in all situations. He’s played almost 25 more minutes than anyone else on his team and averages more time on ice than anyone else left in the playoffs. Only Brian Dumoulin average more as the Devils lost in the first round to Carolina. Their first round series against the Colorado Avalanche went all sevens and Nathan MacKinnon was limited to a goal-per-game average with only 4 of his 7 coming at 5-on-5 play. There are certainly more deserving players to this point in the playoffs, but what Harley is contributing for the Dallas Stars can’t go unacknowledged – especially since they’re still missing a Norris caliber defenseman in Heiskanen.

4. Jake Oettinger

No goaltender has faced more shots this post-season than Jake Oettinger has. So far, he has 40 more shots faced than Logan Thompson who’s played one fewer game, meanwhile Oettinger is posting a .910 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.78. He’s coming up extremely timely saves as the team has gone to overtime twice and three of their games have been decided by one goal. He hasn’t been perfect by any stretch, but given how much more he’s seen the puck compared to every other goaltender there’s no way he shouldn’t be considered. If the Stars can continue to go further in the playoffs, the play in the crease from Jake Oettinger will continue to be a massive reason why.

3. Connor McDavid

Last season McDavid took home the Conn Smythe in a losing effort. He leads the playoffs in scoring, again, with 16 points despite only scoring 3 goals. Despite the teams overall very poor goaltending, the offense is keeping them in every game and he is helping to facilitate that in every way possible. He’s averaging more ice time during the playoffs this season than he had last season, he’s winning more faceoffs, is at a higher points per game pace than last season. If he keeps this up, should the Oilers make it to the final again, there is no way his name doesn’t stick around the conversation – win or lose (again).

2. Mikko Rantanen

The only player rivaling Connor McDavid offensively is Mikko Rantanen. He is tied with William Nylander and Leon Draisaitl when it comes to overall points, at 15, however Rantanen has 8 goals and 7 assists. The reason I would bump Rantanen ahead of McDavid, aside from the goal differential, would be the timing of his scoring. At a time when the Stars are still missing Jason Robertson from their forward group, Rantanen has stepped up in the most crucial moments for the team. They advanced past the Avalanche because he scored a hat trick, and they got their first victory in Winnipeg because of a second hat trick. Right now the Stars will go as far as Rantanen is able to carry them, which was also exemplified by the shutout victory for Winnipeg in game 2, so the further they go in the playoffs the better case he makes for the Conn Smythe.

1. Frederik Andersen

Right now, my favorite, to with the Conn Smythe, would have to be Frederik Andersen. The only knock against him to win is that his counter-part, Pyotr Kochetkov, has seen some action due to an injury to Andersen. The top-10 in games played for goaltenders thus far have all started 7, 8, or 9 games so the difference in games played is minimal. The reason Andersen is the favorite is because during his 408 plus minutes of time on ice, he’s only allowed 9 goals. The team as a whole has only 15, which is four fewer than the Washington Capitals who are the next team who is still playing in the playoffs. The 15 goals allowed is fewer than the Canadiens, Wild, Devils, Senators, and Lightning who were all eliminated in the first round.

Right now the case between Mikko Rantanen and Frederik Andersen is very close. The good news is there are still two more rounds to the playoffs for us to see who continues to step up and earn the Conn Smythe.