Stanley Cup Playoffs 2013: Who's Hot and Who's Not Midway Through 2nd Round

We have now reached the point where most of the second-round series in the 2013 NHL playoffs are at the halfway point.

With that said, it's now an appropriate time to assess which players are playing well at the most important time of the year, as well as those who are failing to meet expectations.

While certain stats such as goals scored and save percentage are often talked about at this time in the season, failing to do the little things (faceoffs, back-checking, etc.) consistently also has a major impact on the outcomes of playoff games. The players who contribute in all areas will set their teams up for success as the postseason progresses.

Let's look at who's hot and who's not midway through the conference semifinals.

Hot: Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg has been the best player in his team's second-round series versus the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks.

He has two points in this series with a total of 13 shots and an impressive 56.36 faceoff percentage. His scoring total for the entire postseason is 10 points in 10 games.

Zetterberg's defensive work against Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has been his most impactful contribution to this series. Detroit's captain has done a tremendous job of frustrating the Chicago center with his physical play and great stick work.

When Zetterberg is on the ice at the same time as Toews, the Blackhawks are getting no offensive production from one of the team's most highly skilled players (stat via TSN):

"

Zetterberg: has been on for 80% of Toews shifts through 3 games. Toews has 0 goals

— THE STATS GUY (@TH2NSTATSGUY) May 21, 2013"

As one of the top two-way players in the game, Zetterberg is raising his game for the Red Wings at the most important time of the year. But this isn't a surprise, considering the fact that he's tallied 112 points (54 goals, 58 assists) in 119 career NHL playoff games.

Not: Referees

I don't normally criticize referees because officiating the NHL playoffs is so difficult. However, the officiating in the postseason thus far has been consistently poor, and it has made some games hard to watch.

There are too many instances where blatant penalties are not being called. Here is a list of a few examples:

• Montreal Canadiens forward Rene Bourque elbowed Ottawa Senators forward Cory Conacher on purpose in Round 1, with no penalty called (video).
• Ryan Callahan high-sticked Zdeno Chara in Game 3 of the Bruins and Rangers series on Tuesday, and it drew a lot of blood. No penalty.
• In the same game, Bruins forward Tyler Seguin and Rangers rookie Chris Kreider were high-sticked simultaneously. Neither penalty was called (photo).
• Marian Hossa took a dive in Game 1 of the Blackhawks and Red Wings series but received a power play as a result of a tripping call (video).

In Monday's Game 3 between the Red Wings and Blackhawks, one of the referees determined that Chicago forward Andrew Shaw interfered with Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard when it appeared that Viktor Stalberg had tied the game 2-2 in the third period (video). The goal was wrongly disallowed, and the Red Wings went on to win 3-1.

There's nothing worse in the playoffs than consistently poor officiating, and hopefully this problem is corrected soon. Fans' enjoyment of these games is lessened when the referees miss too many easy calls.

Hot: Bruins Rookie Defensemen

The Boston Bruins' blue line was thought to be an area of weakness going into their second-round series with the New York Rangers since three veteran defensemen are dealing with injuries serious enough to keep them out of the lineup.

Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden, who have 274 games of playoff experience combined, have not been able to play in this series. Bruins head coach Claude Julien has been forced to put rookies Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski (pictured) in the lineup, and these young players have exceeded expectations.

"I think it’s exciting for our guys to see some young players come in and contribute the way they have," said Julien after Game 2.

"When you look a [Torey] Krug, he’s playing against their third line a lot of times, which is [Brian] Boyle, and [Taylor] Pyatt, and [Derek] Dorsett, which are all heavy players and he’s handled himself extremely well. [Matt] Bartkowski’s playing against their top lines every once in a while, that [Rick] Nash line, but more so against [Derek] Stepan, [Carl] Hagelin and [Ryan] Callahan. But he’s done a good job. Those young guys have done a great job, and what can you say about [Dougie] Hamilton? Most of the time he’s out there against [Rick] Nash, with Zdeno [Chara]."

In the last four games, Krug became the fourth player in Bruins history to score goals in his first two playoff games, Bartkowski scored his first career NHL goal in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hamilton has tallied two points with impressive work on the power play.

These young blueliners have improved the Bruins' transition game with their great puck-moving skills, impressive skating ability and the confidence they display with the puck on the blade of their stick.

One of the big reasons the Bruins have gotten 11 goals from defensemen in the postseason (most of any team) is that these rookies are willing to shoot the puck when the opportunity is there. Krug, Hamilton and Bartkowski have combined for 19 shots in the last four games.

Not: Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruins

Tyler Seguin is one of the most talented young forwards in the NHL, but the 21-year-old winger has made no impact offensively during the Bruins' playoff run.

He has zero goals and one assist through 10 games, with a plus/minus rating of minus-two. Bruins head coach Claude Julien demoted him to the third line and gave him just over 22 minutes of ice time in the last two games combined, but that hasn't sparked a revival of his offensive game.

Seguin has averaged just three shots in his last five games, and he's failed to capitalize on all of his scoring chances, including a breakaway opportunity against Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist on Tuesday.

Boston has been fortunate that its first, second and fourth lines have contributed offensively while Seguin has struggled to score goals, but sooner or later, the Bruins will need their young star to find the back of the net on a consistent basis to win another Stanley Cup.

Hot: Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are now Logan Couture's team, and he has elevated his game at both ends of the ice in this year's playoffs.

The 24-year-old center leads the Sharks in scoring (11 points) and ranks second in assists (six), first in goals (T-five), first in power-play goals (five) and first in game-winning goals (two).

He's also playing a huge role on special teams with 0:53 of short-handed ice time per game and 3:07 of power-play time per game.

In Game 3 of the Sharks' second-round series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, Couture scored the winning goal in overtime and also led the team in takeaways (three). He's also been consistent with points in six of San Jose's eight playoff games.

Couture has emerged as an elite NHL player in the postseason while further establishing himself as the face of the Sharks franchise.

Not: Road Teams

Home teams are 11-2 in the second round of the NHL playoffs. The only teams to win on the road in the conference semifinals are the Bruins at Madison Square Garden in Game 3 against the Rangers and the Red Wings in Game 2 at the United Center versus the Blackhawks.

Here's how the second round compares to the conference quarterfinals with regard to home-ice advantage:

	Home W/L	Win %
Round 1	30-17	63.8
Round 2	11-2	84.6

Prior to the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, teams with home-ice advantage in the second round since the 2004-05 lockout have a series record of 14-14, so this year's numbers are considerably different than the trend we have seen over the last seven years.

Winning on the road in the playoffs is always a tough challenge, especially in the later rounds when the pressure to perform rapidly increases. It will be interesting to see if the home-ice advantage continues to play a factor in the outcomes of the second-round series in progress.

Hot: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Evgeni Malkin has been the Pittsburgh Penguins' best player in this year's playoffs with a team-leading 14 points (three goals and 11 assists). In his nine playoff games thus far, Malkin has tallied two points in six of them.

In a playmaking role, the Penguins center has been fantastic, and he even made a little bit of history with his assist in Game 2 of Pittsburgh's second-round series against the Ottawa Senators (via ESPN Stats and Info):

"

Via Elias-- Last 3 players to record assist in team's first 8 games of postseason-- Bobby Orr (1972), Joe Sakic (1997), Evgeni Malkin (2013)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 18, 2013"

Even though Sidney Crosby is the Penguins' most talented player, Malkin's successes and failures often have a larger impact on the team's postseason success.

When he dominates in all three zones, Pittsburgh is almost unbeatable. During the 2008-09 playoffs, Malkin led all players with 36 points in 24 games, which earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy in the Penguins' Stanley Cup run. We could see a similar postseason performance from the Russian star in 2013.

Not: Brad Richards, New York Rangers

Brad Richards' disappointing play during the regular season has continued into the playoffs. He has one goal and zero assists through 10 games, and he has made absolutely no impact on his team's abysmal power play.

In the Rangers' 2-1 loss in Game 3 of their second-round series against the Bruins, Richards played just two shifts in the third period. Almost all of his shifts in the series have been on the fourth line.

As a veteran with a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Stanley Cup ring on his resume, the lack of production from Richards at both ends of the ice has been a massive disappointment for the Rangers.

The 31-year-old forward was among the highest-paid players on the team this season, but he surely hasn't lived up to that status.

Hot: NBC Sports

NBC lucked out in the second round by getting four major American markets with Original Six teams facing off in playoff series featuring historic rivalries.

The Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers series include four of the 11 largest television markets in the United States according to Nielsen, via TVBytheNumbers.com.

Monday's Game 3 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit was a huge success for NBC:

• Game 3 of the Chicago-Detroit series (7:30P-10:27P) drew a 1.02 US HH rating, 1.631 million average viewers.

• The 1.631 million viewers last night was NBC Sports Network’s best-ever Western Conference Game 3 and most-watched Western Conference Game 3 on cable in 12 years, since Colorado-L.A. in 2001 (1.656 million).

Not only is NBC getting good ratings from its American matchups, but the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators series is also captivating fans in the United States.

"

Also of note, Sunday night’s Game 3 between Pittsburgh and Ottawa was watched by 1.401 million viewers, making it NBC Sports Network’s best-ever Semifinal game involving a Canadian team, and the best such game on cable in 20 years (1994’s Sharks/Leafs Game 7, 1.67 million viewers).

"

Not: Blackhawks' Top Line

The Blackhawks are getting almost no offensive production from their top line of Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and rookie Brandon Saad in the team's second-round series against the Red Wings.

Here are these players' stats in the series thus far:

Player	G	A	P	+/-	PP
Toews	0	1	1	-1	0
Hossa	1	0	1	-2	1
Saad	0	0	0	-1	0

Chicago needs its top line to generate more offense because the team's bottom-six forwards are getting outplayed by their Detroit counterparts.

As elite players who excel at even strength and on the power play, one goal in three games combined is unacceptable from Toews and Hossa. With three goals in his last 21 playoff games, Toews needs to improve quickly or the Blackhawks could be facing a 3-1 series deficit when they travel back to Chicago for Game 5 of their second-round series.

Hot: Blackhawks Penalty Kill

One of the few positives for the Chicago Blackhawks over their last two games (both losses) against the Detroit Red Wings is the team's success on the penalty kill.

The Blackhawks rank first among all playoff teams in penalty-killing percentage with a perfect 100 percent success rate (29-of-29). They are the only team in the playoffs that hasn't allowed a power-play goal.

After finishing 27th in penalty killing last season, Chicago's improvement in this area of the game is quite impressive. The Blackhawks do a tremendous job of getting in the shooting lines and quickly taking away opposing teams' time and space in the attacking zone to create turnovers.

Special teams success often plays a major role in becoming a Stanley Cup champion, and if Chicago is going to erase its 2-1 series deficit to Detroit and reach the Western Conference finals, the team's penalty kill must maintain its current level of effectiveness.

Not: Rangers Power Play

The Rangers' power play has been their biggest weakness in the postseason thus far. New York has the worst power play among the remaining playoff teams with two goals in 38 opportunities with the man advantage (stat via TSN):

"

Rangers: 54 shots in 68:14 of powerplay time during playoffs......2 goals

— THE STATS GUY (@TH2NSTATSGUY) May 22, 2013"

The Blueshirts are also 0-of-20 on the power play away from Madison Square Garden, and they have failed on all 10 of their opportunities against the Bruins in the second round. At home, the Rangers haven't been much better on the power play. The last 10 penalties at MSG have been called on the visiting team, but the Blueshirts have not capitalized on any of those power plays.

The basic fundamentals of the team's power play are awful at the moment. New York is not moving the puck fast enough with the man advantage, and the team is trying too hard to make the perfect play.

The Rangers are also having a lot of trouble entering the attacking zone against the Bruins, and when they do cross the blue line successfully and dump the puck below the goal line, the player who goes to win possession is not supported properly. This results in Boston easily icing the puck and wasting valuable time on the Rangers power play.

New York doesn't have enough scoring depth to beat the Bruins at even strength, which makes fixing the power play one of the top priorities for head coach John Tortorella prior to Thursday's Game 4.

Hot: Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins captain and No. 1 defenseman Zdeno Chara has played like a Norris Trophy winner during the playoffs with a league-leading 10 points (among blueliners) and 29:23 of ice time per game.

Injuries to Boston's blue line have forced Chara to play over 30 minutes in three games thus far, including back-to-back nights of 35:46 and 38:02 minutes in Game 7 of the first round and Game 1 of the second round.

Chara has also been dominant defensively. In addition to 15 blocked shots, he ranks seventh among all players in hits (40) and has a plus/minus rating of seven. The Rangers' most dangerous offensive player, first-line winger Rick Nash, has just one goal in the second round, and Chara's strong play defensive play is a major reason for the veteran forward's lack of success.

As a player who stands 6'9" and has a very high hockey IQ, Chara is the toughest defenseman to play against in the NHL. His stick work his great, he plays a physical game and he contributes at both ends of the ice.

He's been the Bruins' MVP of the playoffs thus far.

Not: Kings in the Faceoff Circle

The Kings currently have the worst faceoff percentage (45.4) of all the remaining playoff teams, and in their second-round series versus the Sharks, they have lost 146 of 256 faceoffs through four games.

No player on the Kings who has taken more than two faceoffs has won 50 percent or better of his draws in the postseason.

As the chart below shows, several of Los Angeles' best top forwards have won a lower percentage of faceoffs in the playoffs compared to the regular season.

Player	Reg. Season %	Playoff %	Difference
Anze Kopitar	53.3	49.2	-4.1
Mike Richards	49.0	48.1	-0.9
Jeff Carter	52.6	43.2	-9.4

For the Kings to kill penalties consistently and generate enough scoring chances against a good defensive team like the Sharks, they need to win more faceoffs.

There's no question that the absence of injured center Jarret Stoll (team-leading 56.0 FO% during regular season) is a major reason for the team's struggles in the faceoff dot in this series, but there are plenty of other guys on the roster capable of stepping up.