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Eight players to watch in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn is looking to lead his team past the St. Louis Blues. Glenn James/Getty Images

Eight players to watch in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Whether they’ve started playing in the second round or are still riding high from their first-round showings, now is the time of the playoffs where being clutch becomes an even bigger premium.

Here are players from each team to keep an eye on throughout the rest of Round 2.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Matt Murray
The backup to Marc-Andre Fleury got a healthy dose of playoff drama on Thursday night thanks to a controversial call deciding that he surrendered the game-winning goal to Washington’s T.J. Oshie. How he responds the rest of the series will be a large part to whether or not the Penguins find success.

CBSSports.com explained that Murray will have to regain his mojo from Round 1 to notch wins against the Caps:

Murray was exceptional in the series against the Rangers, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.33 GAA, but if the Pens are going to win this series, he's going to need to make the saves that most goalies wouldn't. The Capitals are going to keep firing the shots and Murray is going to have to come out a lot stronger in Game 2 if the Penguins are going to come out on top. 

Nashville Predators: Shea Weber    
Veteran goaltender Pekka Rinne got hot in Round 1 against the Anaheim Ducks, and he’ll need assistance in front of him to keep the San Jose Sharks from finding the back of the net. That starts with the Preds’ captain, Shea Weber.

Reporters present before Game 7 against Anaheim described the calm demeanor in Nashville’s Weber-led dressing room.

That demeanor also translates to confidence on the ice, where he notched five points in Round 1, including a goal on the man advantage in Game 2 at Anaheim.

New York Islanders: Thomas Greiss
While John Tavares has more than earned the title “Captain Clutch,” it’s hard not to look in the Islanders’ net and applaud Greiss for stepping up so far this postseason.

The 30-year-old German’s stats aren’t the only impressive part of his young playoff tenure. Newsday.com explained that Greiss’s ability to play well under pressure is a bonus:

… witness the postgame scene in the visitors room: Greiss gabbing away with Johnny Boychuk, who was sharing his story of being pitchforked in a very uncomfortable spot during the third. Greiss making funny faces behind reporters to get Shane Prince to crack as he gave an interview. 
Greiss is so unlike any other goaltender it’s pleasantly shocking. Perhaps his status as an unsung guy, a 30-year-old getting his first taste of the big time, is a plus. He’s mature enough to handle the pressure and knows himself well so there’s no tension in his game or his attitude.

Greiss held the opposing Tampa Bay Lightning to three goals in New York’s 5-3 victory in the series opener. He heads into Game 2 with 1.94 goals-against average and .941 save percentage, and is tied with Washington’s Braden Holtby for most playoff wins at five.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman
The Bolts’ defense has gotten looser with each game in these playoffs, and Hedman — who has been logging more ice time than ever since Anton Stralman was injured back in March — is a key component to tightening the defense corps. This is especially true when a case like Game 1 of the second round arises, where netminder Ben Bishop isn’t quite his Vezina-candidate self.

NHL.com perfectly summarized before Game 1 what Hedman’s impact would be in the best-of-seven versus the Isles:

As well as Tampa Bay played on defense in the first round, it will have to be better going against Tavares, Okposo and the rest of New York's talented group of forwards. The Islanders will try to use their speed and take advantage of any open space on the ice to pressure the Lightning defense and get good shots on net. Hedman will be relied upon to play more than 25 minutes per game and keep Tavares off the score sheet. He will also be asked to do more offensively and help get the power play going.-

St. Louis Blues: Alex Pietrangelo
Offensive firepower played a key role in the Blues bouncing the Blackhawks in Round 1, in part because the Schwartz-Tarasenko-Lehtera line got hot at the perfect time. The other key was St. Louis’s defense keeping Chicago’s big guns from finding the back of the net.

Pietrangelo, and the rest of the blue line no less, will have to bring that same level of dominance when facing a Dallas Stars team that can be hard to contain once it starts scoring goals. He explained the similarities between the two opponents to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post- Dispatch:

“They definitely have some tendencies that are similar,” Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “(Dallas) has some guys that were (in Chicago) last year and they brought some stuff over. There’s a lot of X’s and O’s that we can talk about, but if we bring that same effort that we brought for seven games (against Chicago), we’re going to put ourselves in a good position. I think the intensity of that series is going to be an important thing for us, being able to carry that over. We did a heck of a job limiting (Chicago’s) opportunities as best we could. But we’re playing the highest scoring team in the league now; we’re going to need more of the same.”


Dallas Stars: Jamie Benn
All eyes are on the Stars’ captain headed into Round 2, not just to continue driving an offense missing Tyler Seguin, but to also help set the tone against a tough St. Louis Blues squad.

A plus for the Stars is that Benn has had a stellar postseason thus far, registering 10 points (four goals, six assists) in Round 1. Stars coach Lindy Ruff told ESPN.com that he has the advantage of shifting Benn throughout the lineup as much as he can.

“I can drop him on a different line, not tipping my hand. There’s different places I can play him … whether that means more offensive zone starts, less defensive zone starts, double shifting, not following a rotation, a lot of different things. It’s something we’ve been doing since day one.”


San Jose Sharks: Joel Ward
Team Teal’s offensive depth expanded at the end of the five-gamer against the Los Angeles Kings, and the veteran winger was part of that equation, notching four assists in the series. Round 2 could be where Ward finds the back of the net.

Ward has the reputation for being “that guy” in pivotal games, particularly in overtime play. His shot on goal in overtime of San Jose’s loss to the Kings in Round 1 just barely missed being a goal when it hit iron. He is also on a strong second line with Logan Couture and Joonas Donskoi, who both played better as the previous series went on.

Focus will of course be on the likes of Joe Thornton, Brent Burns and captain Joe Pavelski to lead the charge for San Jose. But with the depth the team is showing in these playoffs, this is a time when Ward could start showing up even more on the score sheet.

Washington Capitals: T.J. Oshie
If those three goals in an eventful Game 1 against the Penguins — including that wraparound in overtime — were any indication, Oshie is set to have a colossal series.

But it isn’t just rising to the occasion in postseason play for the 29-year-old winger. Washington starting netminder Braden Holtby told Katie Brown of NHL.com that it goes back to Oshie’s work ethic:

“He seems to be up every single game. I've never seen him take a night off," Holtby said of Oshie. "His work ethic is through the roof and compete level is amazing. That shows in these games that he's going to be one of those guys that's really key for us."

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