NHL Playoffs 2012: 7 Most Important Players in Vancouver Canucks vs. L.A. Kings

Just one short week has passed since the Vancouver Canucks captured the Presidents' Trophy and prepared to face the Los Angeles Kings—who lost two in a row to close out their season and drop to eighth place in the Western Conference.

Some thought the Kings could spell trouble for any first-round opponent, but the idea of being up 3-0 in their first-round series against the top seed would have been pretty far-fetched.

That's where the Canucks and Kings find themselves.

Los Angeles has been strong, and Vancouver hasn't had any puck-luck to make up for the slips and gaffes that have plagued its Canucks. Let's look at the most important players who have caused this unlikely turn of events.

1. Dustin Brown

There's no bigger story in this series than Dustin Brown, who has emerged as the most important skater in this series so far. He's playing the best hockey of his career, and no one saw it coming.

Brown's regular season production dropped from 67 points in 2010-11 to 53 this year, as his entire team was mired in an offensive slump. There was talk at the trade deadline that he'd be moved.

No deal went down, and now Brown is leading his team with four goals and five points in three playoff games. After an empty-netter in Game 1, Brown logged two short-handed markers in Game  and then the only goal of Game 3.

Brown is also a plus-3 so far and has played a physical series, including a devastating hit on Henrik Sedin in Game 3.

Impact players are said to raise their game once the playoffs begin. Dustin Brown is showing that he can be one of those players.

2. Jonathan Quick

The Los Angeles Kings were the second lowest scoring team in the NHL during the regular season, finishing only ahead of Minnesota. They were able to stay in the playoff hunt thanks to stellar goaltending from Vezina candidate Jonathan Quick.

During the regular season, Quick logged a stellar 1.95 goals-against-average and .929 save percentage. He's raised his game even further in the playoffs, allowing just four goals in three games. That's a 1.33 GAA and a save percentage of .965—tops among playoff goaltenders so far.

Like most of the Kings, Jonathan Quick has a relatively low national profile. If the Kings do manage to go deep into the playoffs, that could change in a hurry.

3. Daniel Sedin

Vancouver's Daniel Sedin is certainly the most important player in this series *not* to have played a single minute.

Speculation has run rampant about Daniel's health ever since he was knocked out of the lineup with a concussion by Duncan Keith back on March 21. Daniel did practice a bit with his team before the series started, but he hasn't played and has slipped deeper into the shadows as time has passed.

That was until Monday.

After the Canucks were shut out in Game 3, they announced that Sedin was cleared for practice and was being flown to Los Angeles. At the very least, he'll practice on Tuesday, which should provide a mental boost for his teammates.

The Canucks are definitely hoping that he'll be able to play in Game 4 on Wednesday. He was the Canucks' leading scorer against the Kings in the regular season, with four points in three games, and his return would be particularly welcome on the power play.

Good or bad, the Daniel Sedin story could well prove to be the turning point for this series.

4. Alex Edler

The 2011-12 regular season was a breakout year for big defenceman Alex Edler.

His role with the Canucks increased after the departure of Christian Ehrhoff, and the 25-year-old Swede responded with a career-high 11 goals and 49 points, leading to his first invitation to the All Star Game.

His game has some bumpy spots down the stretch, and his play has remained inconsistent during the playoffs. He scored late in the second period of Game 1 to tie the game at two, but he has also been physically timid and prone to defensive gaffes.

The worst of those have been when he coughed up the puck to Anze Kopitar in Game 2, leading to Dustin Brown's first short-handed goal and his two horribly untimely delay-of-game penalties for shooting the puck over the glass.

The first came in Game 1, after the Kings had just scored on a 5-on-3 to tie the game at one—putting the Kings right back on another 5-on-3. The second happened with less than two minutes to go in the 1-0 Game 3, while the Canucks were pressing hard to try to score the equalizer.

Alex Edler has shown us what a fine hockey player he can be. The Canucks will need to see that player again soon to have any hope at all of fighting back in this playoff series.

5. Willie Mitchell

When Vancouver and Los Angeles last met in the playoffs in 2010, defenceman Willie Mitchell was a member of the Canucks. He was also sitting on the sidelines, recovering from a serious concussion he'd suffered three months earlier. The Canucks won that series, but Mitchell's absence was noticeable—even more so in the next series, against Chicago.

Nevertheless, that summer the Canucks decided not to risk re-signing Mitchell with his questionable health situation. Instead, they added Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis to the blue line.

Eventually, Mitchell found a home with the Kings—one of the only teams willing to sign him to a two-year deal.

The fit has proven to be very good. Mitchell has stayed healthy, and he has been an invaluable teacher for young stud Drew Doughty, who often plays as his partner. Mitchell has just signed on for another two years with the Kings and has been their best defenceman so far in this series.

Mitchell is a plus-3 in three games with a power-play goal to his credit and is logging nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game. He even contributed in the most backwards way possible in Game 2, taking the two holding penalties that led to both of Dustin Brown's short-handed goals. This playoff, the hockey gods are definitely smiling on Willie.

6. Roberto Luongo and 7. Cory Schneider

The Vancouver Canucks' biggest storyline heading into these playoffs was their goaltending. With two top stoppers in Luongo and Schneider, how would they ever decide who plays?

Ultimately, the goalies are only important for how unimportant they've become. The Canucks' four goals in three games puts them at the bottom of the list for playoff offense and is the key reason why their season is in jeopardy.

Luongo surrendered three goals in Game 1 and four goals in Game 2, but his play was solid and he made some big saves to keep his team in both games. Nevertheless, Alain Vigneault decided to start Cory Schneider for Game 3 in an effort to shake up his team. Once again, the goaltending was just fine. Schneider played a near-perfect game in a 1-0 defeat.

The potential return of Daniel Sedin for Game 4 has quieted the fuss for now about who will try to stop the sweep by starting Game 4. Who would have imagined that this would have been the least of the Canucks' concerns?