B/R Experts' Picks for the Best of the 2015 NHL Playoffs

There were some great moments in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, capped by the Chicago Blackhawks hoisting the Cup on home ice Monday night for the first time since 1938.

From dirty plays to great saves, playoff rookie debuts to breakout performances by players who've been there before, spectacular goals to super series, our panel of NHL experts are picking the best of the best.

Adrian Dater, Dave Lozo, Steve Macfarlane and Jonathan Willis offer you their picks for these categories and more. These are personal choices and there are no wrong ones. Feel free, however, to add your own selections and debate in the comments.

Best Goal

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Dater: Alex Killorn's redirect in Game 1 of the Finals for Tampa Bay. That wasn't just a tip—it was a true redirection.

Lozo: There may have been prettier goals, but there's something about a buzzer-beater that's special, maybe because they don't happen all that often in hockey. This one was also the nail in the coffin in a way as Tyler Johnson gave the Lightning a 3-0 series lead over Montreal. Without the tally, the Canadiens could have won Game 3 in overtime to make it a 2-1 series instead of sinking into an insurmountable 3-0 hole.

Macfarlane: Buzzer-beaters are always exciting. Tyler Johnson's game-winner with 1.1 seconds left on the clock was quite a finish. It may not have been the prettiest, but it was one of the most exciting and memorable.

Willis: Emerson Etem, Game 4 versus Winnipeg. What a thing of beauty this was. Etem went end to end, posterized a pretty good defenseman in Jacob Trouba and then unleashed a backhand that beat both a sliding Ben Chiarot and Ondrej Pavelec. Goals don’t get much prettier than that one.

Best Save

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Dater: Petr Mrazek's stick stop of Brian Boyle in Game 6 of the first round for Detroit. It was the last good moment for Mrazek and the Wings in the series. But it was as good as it gets.

Lozo: Scott Darling's role in the Blackhawks' championship may be forgotten over the years, but the way he rescued them in the first round was nothing short of heroic. Chicago had rallied from down three goals after Darling replaced Corey Crawford in Game 1 against the Predators, and Ellis had a chance for a back-breaking goal. Instead, Darling pushed across for the game-saving stop that otherwise may have sent the Blackhawks down a different path in the playoffs.

Macfarlane: I'll admit it, I have a thing for stick saves. Maybe it brings me back to my ball hockey goaltending days or something. But the Petr Mrazek stop on the Lightning's Brian Boyle was unbelievable in the first round. It's the visual of it that has it ranked above all stops for me. If anyone has a link to a double-stacker, I'd probably vote for that, too.

Willis: Scott Darling on Ryan Ellis. That should have been a goal for sure. Colin Wilson whipped a beautiful cross-crease pass to Ellis and Ellis picked the far post, but somehow Darling extended across and stopped it. It was a great save from a drama perspective, too: a late third-period stop by a totally unknown backup goaltender to keep the game tied.

Dirtiest Play

Dater: P.K. Subban's slash of Ottawa's Mark Stone in the first round. Subban should have been suspended for his, but he wasn't. It was as dirty as it gets.

Lozo: The P.K. Subban slash on Mark Stone, for sure. Maybe it was intentional, maybe it was a routine slash gone wrong, but Subban chopping down on Stone was pretty bad. It didn't break a bone, but it was injurious and could have done serious damage. The playoffs were mostly clean this year compared to years past, so Subban's whacking of Stone's hand really stands out.

Macfarlane: P.K. Subban's slash on Mark Stone was the worst offense. It came early in the playoffs and went without a suspension, but it beats out Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall's hit on Nikita Kucherov (whose noggin had a rough postseason), which resulted in a one-game suspension. Why? Its unnecessary nature. I don't believe there was intent to injure, but Subban wanted to make Stone think twice about battling in front of the net.

Willis: P.K. Subban's slash on Mark Stone. No question on this. Subban took a two-handed chop at an opponent and there was never any kind of excuse or mitigating circumstance to let him off the hook.

Best Breakout Performance

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Dater: Tyler Johnson's play for Tampa Bay. He posted 23 points in the playoffs, and it's a shame we couldn't see him at full strength in the Finals because of a likely hand injury.

Lozo: Braden Holtby in the first two rounds. Holtby had always been in that second level of goaltenders, good but not quite great. He ascended to the penthouse with his outstanding play, which was undermined by the Capitals' inability to score. If not for Derek Stepan being the recipient of a perfect bounce in Game 7 of the second round, Holtby could've cemented himself even further in the conference final.

Macfarlane: I have to go with the Anaheim Ducks' Matt Beleskey. Other candidates like Victor Hedman come to mind, or even Duncan Keith for his incredible Chris Pronger-like performance that took him to a new level of elite. But Beleskey made more than an impression on me for scoring in every single game against the Calgary Flames in Round 2. He's going to make a heck of a lot more money as a result of his eight goals in 16 playoff games.

Willis: Victor Hedman, in particular during the Stanley Cup Final. He’s been a really good defenseman for a much longer time than people think, but this was the series that etched him in the public consciousness as a franchise figure in the mold of a Duncan Keith or Drew Doughty.

Most Memorable Moment

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Dater: Patrick Kane's one-timer to seal the deal in Game 6 for Chicago against Tampa Bay. Mr. Showtime's point toward Brad Richards for his setup pass marked the moment when Hawks fans could really let loose at the United Center.

Lozo: Kimmo Timonen getting the Cup. Who doesn't enjoy seeing that player who has never won a Cup getting to hoist it in his final season? Sure, Timonen didn't play all that well after arriving at the trade deadline, but he was part of a championship after nearly two decades of never getting a taste of it.

Macfarlane: It wasn't exactly a Ray Bourque moment, but seeing Kimmo Timonen get to raise the Stanley Cup after his trade out of Philadelphia and all that he's been through personally—with the blood clot issue that had most believing his career was already over—was an emotional moment and probably the most memorable for me in the end.

Willis: Scott Darling's 42-save performance in relief of Corey Crawford in Game 1 against the Nashville Predators. Darling was a total unknown, and when Nashville took that 3-0 lead and sent Crawford to the bench, it felt like the contest was over. Even after Chicago tied things up, the Predators should have won, as they outshot the Blackhawks 32-19 in the third period and first overtime. Darling made 42 stops on 42 shots and established himself as a capable playoff starter after Crawford allowed six goals in Game 2 and was again sent to the bench.

Best Playoff Debut

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Dater: Johnny Gaudreau for Calgary. He had nine points in 11 games and a great tying goal in a contest against Anaheim. He is listed at 5'9", 150 pounds, but he sure plays a lot bigger.

Lozo: Johnny Gaudreau. The undersized rookie is just the latest example of smaller players showing they can handle the rigors of the regular season and the playoffs. Gaudreau had four goals and nine points in 11 games for the Flames, including a big one that forced overtime against the Ducks in Game 3. The future is getting brighter in Calgary and it's largely because of the work of Gaudreau.

Macfarlane: Maybe it's because I covered the series up close, but I thought the impact raw rookie Sam Bennett made for the Calgary Flames in the first round against the Vancouver Canucks was instant and inspiring. The kid is still 18 years old, drafted just last year, and had only dressed for the regular-season finale because most of the team's stars were sitting out to rest for the playoffs. He then suited up in the fastest environment possible against men much bigger and stronger. He never shied away from anything and finished with three goals—including a game-winner for his first in the NHL postseason by crashing the net for a rebound. A few teammates had bigger numbers, but Bennett had a larger effect.

Willis: T.J. Brodie. When Mark Giordano went down in late February, there were a lot of questions about how Calgary would respond. Brodie was great and even better in the playoffs, when he was a dominant No. 1 defenseman for the Flames. He really didn’t get the attention he deserved. This should have been a star-making turn for him in his first NHL playoffs.

Biggest Flop

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Dater: Paul Stastny of St. Louis. The $7 million man, the biggest name of the 2014 free-agent class, had one point in six games. No wonder the Blues lost again in the first round.

Lozo: Jake Allen. The Blues trusted Allen with the goaltending duties this year and he failed to live up to expectations. Allen finished the playoffs with four losses in six games and a .904 save percentage against the Minnesota Wild. St. Louis didn't score all that much, sure, but Allen allowed too many soft goals.

Macfarlane: During a spring in which Marc-Andre Fleury was arguably the Pittsburgh Penguins' best player, they should've at least advanced past the first round, right? Not when Evgeni Malkin comes up empty in five games. No goals. No assists. Eleven shots. No wonder people started talking about how he might want a change of scenery. I know Malkin played with a sprained ankle, but Maple Leafs legend Bobby Baun once scored an overtime game-winner in the Cup Final on a broken leg, so Malkin doesn't get a pass.

Willis: Ondrej Pavelec. The Winnipeg Jets really weren't that bad in the first round, but ended up getting swept after they blew three third-period leads in the first three games. Pavelec was flat-out bad in three of the four contests and simply couldn't close out a game. Look at the angle of Jakob Silfverberg's game-winner with 20 seconds left in Game 2—that's a back-breaking goal if ever there were one.

Best Series

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Dater: Anaheim vs. Chicago in the Western Conference Final. OK, so Game 7 was a bit of a letdown, but those first six games were as good as playoff hockey gets. It had skill, great saves and nastiness on both sides. It was a pleasure to watch.

Lozo: Blackhawks vs. Ducks. Seven games, just about all of them incredible. Three games went to overtime, and two went to multiple overtimes. There were rallies from three-goal deficits and heroics from Jonathan Toews and the rest of Chicago's stars. Injuries left the Blackhawks with four defensemen they leaned on heavily in the series and it didn't matter. It was the Stanley Cup Final before the Stanley Cup Final.

Macfarlane: To me, the Western Conference Final between the Blackhawks and Ducks was the Stanley Cup Final, which made the actual final series a bit of a letdown. It was just so fast and physical and electric and seemed like a heavyweight battle as opposed to the slick and stifling middleweight combination of the Hawks and Lightning. I guessed the winner of the West would go on to lift the Cup, but the battle for the conference trophy was more exciting. Especially because it went seven games.

Willis: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings. In terms of sheer watching pleasure, this was the series that stood out to me as I looked back on the playoffs. It was a real old guard vs. up-and-comers matchup, and watching Tampa Bay's young guns go head-to-head with Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall was a blast. Both teams play an enjoyable style and the hockey was superb.

Best Game

Dater: Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. It went three overtimes, with Corey Crawford making 60 saves in a 3-2 win. The game will long be remembered for how fast and hard-hitting it was even into the third OT.

Lozo: Game 4 of Blackhawks vs. Predators. This game had it all. Of course, there's the drama of a playoff game going into a third overtime, and Brent Seabrook won it to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead in the series. But this was also the game where Pekka Rinne lost a puck in his equipment for about three minutes. The contest was like a really good movie. It had excitement, drama and a bit of comedy in the form of a goaltender practically undressing.

Macfarlane: Game 2 of the Ducks-Blackhawks battle was just so epic. Three goals in the first period. Another late in the second. And then nothing for three full periods, including a pair of overtimes. The goalies, Corey Crawford and Frederik Andersen, were on the brink of collapse and it was only a matter of time before one of them finally made a mistake. Despite many lasting images of Crawford sucking wind and crumpled over, it was Andersen who finally caved. The attrition factor is what wins it for me.

Willis: Game 4 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators. It's hard to go wrong with three overtimes, and between how fantastic Scott Darling was and how back-and-forth the game's extra sessions were, this was one I enjoyed a lot.  

Best Single-Game Performance

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Dater: Corey Crawford's 60-save performance in the triple-OT win in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against Anaheim. Chicago could so easily have gone down 2-0 in the series if not for him.

Lozo: Tyler Johnson's hat trick against the Rangers. Down 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Final, the Lightning needed something to change in Game 2 at MSG. The Rangers had an early five-on-three power play, but Johnson escaped for a breakaway goal to open the scoring. Then he scored during a four-on-three power play and followed that with an even-strength goal for a hat trick. The Lightning won the game on that performance, and eventually took the series.

Macfarlane: It looks like I'm back on the Tyler Johnson train. He was my pick earlier in the playoffs with his hat-trick performance against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final, and it's still the best single game by an individual in the postseason as far as I'm concerned. I might rerank Corey Crawford's marathon overtime performance a close second just because it seemed like he could topple from fatigue at any moment but hung on to win. The way Johnson earned his goals was special, however, once-in-a-playoff kind of stuff.

Willis: Derick Brassard, Game 6 between the Rangers and Lightning. It's hard to ignore three goals and five points, even if it was a rout and even if one of the goals was against an empty net. Brassard put on that show in a game when New York was facing elimination, and he managed a ridiculous 10 shots in the contest. He was flying all night, and it was probably the high point of the Rangers' season.