NHL Playoffs 2013: Star Players with the Most to Prove

The 2013 NHL playoffs are officially upon us, with the top 16 teams in the NHL going at it to crown the Stanley Cup champion. As every team attempts to etch its franchise's name into the record books, there is an even brighter light being shined upon the individuals.

The question is, which star players have the most to prove during the 2013 NHL playoffs?

When it's all said and done, no individual player will be crowned as champion over another contributor on their team. Instead, it will be an honor shared by every member of the organization that contributed to winning a Stanley Cup.

As fate would have it, losing will have an entirely opposite impact.

If a star player fails to lead their team to a title, they will inevitably face the wrath of the local and international media. While this double standard lacks any form of sense, it's the way that professional sports have always been.

So who's under the most pressure? It all starts with the brightest star of all.

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby's comeback to the NHL in 2012-13 was one of extraordinary measures. After some had speculated that players such as Alexander Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos could overtake Crosby, "The Kid" made a statement.

Despite playing in just 36 games, Crosby tallied 56 points—the NHL's point leader, Martin St. Louis, finished with 60 points in 48 games.

Had Crosby played all 48 games, he was projected to have finished with 75 points. That would have been 15 more than the next leading player in the NHL.

In other words, Crosby is still the best player in the world and second place really isn't too close.

Unfortunately, Crosby was on the wrong end of yet another freak injury when he suffered a broken jaw via a puck to the face (via ESPN). Crosby did practice on Monday, April 29, but his status for the Penguins' game on Wednesday, May 1 is unclear (via Yahoo! Sports).

It's now on Crosby to come back and lead the Penguins to their second Stanley Cup under his lead, thus establishing what is true—the only players that Crosby is competing with are the legends.

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

Henrik Lundqvist is one of the greatest goaltenders in the world today. When he's not making out-of-this-world dives to stop seemingly easy shots, he's glove saving slap shots and poke checking fast-break scoring attempts.

Unfortunately, Lundqvist collapsed during the 2012 Eastern Conference finals, and the Rangers blew a 2-1 lead to eventually lose the series, 4-2.

Lundqvist was remarkable during the first three games, pitching two shutouts and leading the Rangers to an early 2-1 lead. Just as New York appeared to be on the brink of making its first Stanley Cup appearance since 1994, however, there was a meltdown.

Lundqvist was shelled in Games 4 and 5, thus leading to blowout losses for the Rangers.

In Game 6, Lundqvist played well, but inevitably was unable to stop an overtime game-winner from going in for New Jersey to win the game by a score of 3-2. The Devils thus went onto the Stanley Cup and Lundqvist's Rangers went home empty-handed.

After playing dominant hockey during the 2012-13 regular season, it's time for Lundqvist to will a struggling Rangers offense to the Stanley Cup finals.

Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Since entering the league in 2004, Ovechkin has been Crosby's top competition for the label of, "Best player in the world." As Crosby has led his team to both a Stanley Cup title and an Olympic Gold Medal, however, Ovechkin's trophy case has remained desolate.

In fact, Ovechkin has never led the Washington Capitals past the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Capitals have dominated the regular season, finishing in the top three the Eastern Conference in every season from 2008 to 2011. They even sat alone atop the East in 2010 and 2011, securing a league-best 121 points in 2010.

Even still, they've come up short in the postseason.

Ovechkin hasn't necessarily been the reason for their early departures, but he is the team's superstar. As they fail, his reputation takes a hit and the label of a star unable to lead his team to legitimate success has been created.

Ovechkin can silence the critics during the 2013 NHL playoffs.

For the fourth time in five seasons, Ovechkin and the Capitals have drawn the New York Rangers. Washington owns a 3-1 lead in that time but lost a seven-game series to the Rangers in 2012 after losing the clincher by a score of 2-1.

Ovechkin can exact a measure of revenge and salvage his reputation by leading Washington past the Rangers and sparking a deep postseason run.