Morning Skate: Ryan Johansen making a strong Conn Smythe case

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Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

If you asked us a week ago what our Conn Smythe rankings would look like, I’m sure it’d include at least two or three goaltenders. But this is the NHL playoffs, and things change on a whim.

With Matt Murray back in the fold and a subpar finish to the Capitals series on his ledger (not counting Game 7), it’s hard to put Marc-Andre Fleury in the top five at this point. And after watching the goaltending debacle last night in Anaheim we’re sorely tempted to leave Pekka Rinne out of the running, as well.

But recency bias is bad, apparently. So, here’s our Conn Smythe rankings right now, with Rinne sneaking in just under the wire.

Erik Karlsson — The runaway favorite. He’s got everything you want from a Conn Smythe winner: the captaincy, the game-changing points and moments, and a bevy of injuries he’s playing through. He’s the only defenseman in the playoffs running at a point-per-game clip.

Evgeni Malkin — Can you call 33 goals and 72 points a quiet regular season? Don’t answer; you can. We expect that from Malkin, just like we expect him to raise his game another level in the postseason. He leads all players with 19 points, and the Penguins don’t get past Washington without his presence and Crosby on the shelf.

Ryan Johansen — Ryan Kesler helped quiet Connor McDavid, but so far Johansen is getting the better of the Ducks’ shutdown center through two games with four points. Nashville’s top center has 13 points in 12 games.

Ryan Getzlaf — What a renaissance. Getzlaf trails only Malkin with 18 points and came alive against the Oilers.

Pekka Rinne — Toss in Game 2 of this series and Rinne still laps the pack in goalie stats: 1.62 GAA and a .942 SV%.

The Predators failed to match the physicality of the Ducks as Game 2 wore on, and thus we head back to Nashville for Game 3 tied up at 1-1.

That wasn’t the only reason, of course. The big one might be that Pekka Rinne had a terrible night in the crease. Both goalies might want to burn the tapes from last night.

Ryan Murray hasn’t lived up to draft expectations, but could land some prized assets in trades this offseason.