Stanley Cup 2012: Most Important Offensive Players for Finals Matchup

With Jonathan Quick and Martin Brodeur in between the pipes for the Stanley Cup Finals, it's going to take some offense to bring home the Cup.

Quick has been the star of the playoffs for the Los Angeles Kings. En route to carrying the eighth-seeded squad to a 12-2 record, Quick has a .946 save percentage and has allowed just 1.54 goals per game. 

His 22 goals allowed in the playoffs are less than Marc-Andre Fleury, who appeared in eight less games.

Sorry, Pittsburgh. Cheap shot. 

On the other side of the ice will be the ageless wonder, Brodeur. 

He has put together a .923 save percentage in the playoffs and has given up just 2.04 goals per game. He has made a few questionable plays here and there, but his New Jersey Devils are in the finals. 

These are two incredibly talented goalies. Let's take a look at who's most important for each team in beating them. 

Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings

The 27-year-old right wing has been nothing short of spectacular for the Kings during these playoffs. 

Not only has he racked up a ridiculous plus-13 in just 14 games played, he has seven goals, nine assists and 49 shots. That puts him in third in the playoffs in points and seventh in shots. 

If anyone is going to beat Brodeur, it's Brown. 

Travis Zajac, New Jersey Devils

I promise to just pick one player from the Devils' scoring threesome of Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise and Zajac. 

I'll go with Zajac, who has logged the least amount of minutes of the three, yet he has still netted seven goals to go with five assists. He's only taken 39 shots (compared to Kovalchuk's 58 and Parise's 68), but that just means he's doing more with less opportunities.

Kovalchuk leads the NHL in points during the playoffs and Parise isn't far behind, but I foresee a big series from Zajac. 

The Devils are going to have to attack Quick with relentless pressure, and that means Zajac, who played just 15 games during the regular season, is going to have to play his best hockey.

He's incredibly important.

Dwight King, Los Angeles Kings

The 22-year-old King only has five goals during this postseason, but four of those came against Phoenix in the Western Conference Finals, including the game-winner in both Games 2 and 3. 

King will probably only get somewhere around 15 minutes on the ice per game, and it will be vital that he makes plays happen during that time. 

He was arguably the Kings' most important offensive player last series. He must come up big again. 

Adam Henrique, New Jersey Devils

The Devils have a slew of role players, including David Clarkson, Stephen Gionta and Ryan Carter among others, but I'll go with Adam Henrique as another player who needs to be big against Quick.

The 22-year-old rookie is coming off a game in which he netted the series-winning goal against the New York Rangers, and he'll carry that momentum into this series.

In the playoffs, Henrique has three goals and a staggering 11 assists in just 17 minutes on the ice per game. During that time, he is plus-nine.

Henrique will be key for the Devils.

Follow @t_keen