B/R Experts' Picks for the Best of the 2016 NHL Playoffs

Monday night was magical for Pittsburgh Penguins fans who waited seven years to see Sidney Crosby hoist the Stanley Cup over his head for the second time. It was a bit miserable for San Jose Sharks fans who hoped to see Joe Thornton and their favorite franchise do it for the first time.

Both teams had a long journey to get to that point—as did the other 14 squads in the postseason. They all made plenty of memorable moments throughout the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs.

There were beautiful goals and astonishing saves, big breakout performances, cringeworthy conduct and spectacular series. Our panel of NHL experts have selected the best—and worst—of them all.

Adrian Dater, Jonathan Willis and Steve Macfarlane offer their picks in nearly a dozen categories to spark some debate. Video evidence was added when possible, but you may feel differently when it comes to the selections. So click ahead for their choices, and leave your opinions in the comments section.

Best Goal

Dater: Kris Letang's game-winner for Pittsburgh in Game 6 against San Jose. That shift was one for the ages, a tour de force, and gorgeous to watch.

Willis: John Tavares' Game 6 overtime winner for the Islanders against the Panthers. The story is fantastic, with Tavares having first scored late in the third period to keep the Isles alive and winning the series on this shot. But it was also unique—a wraparound off a rebound in which Tavares beat four Panthers to the loose puck after his original scoring chance.

Macfarlane: Sidney Crosby's individual effort in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final was huge, but it's hard not to go with the historic overtime winner by John Tavares in Game 6 against Florida in the first round. He left the Panthers in his wake as he grabbed his own rebound and wrapped around the net to beat Roberto Luongo. It was bedlam in Brooklyn as the Isles won a playoff series for the first time in 23 years.

Best Save

Dater: There were some incredible saves by goalies this postseason, but I'll go with Jay Beagle's amazing play. It was the perfect example of how players will do anything for their teams in the playoffs. It was for naught, however, as the Pens put the Caps away only moments later.

Willis: Drew Doughty's two-pad stack. With due respect to Jay Beagle (and the goalies), the best save of the playoffs came from Doughty. With the score tied 2-2 in Game 1 between his Kings and the Sharks, Doughty made a spectacular sliding stop to rob Patrick Marleau at point-blank range.

Macfarlane: With all due respect to the skaters who made incredible saves to bail out their goaltenders, how could you not go with the Blues' Brian Elliott's desperate stretch to get the tip of his right pad on what looked like a sure goal for Colton Sceviour? It was Game 7 against the Stars with a berth in the Western Conference Final on the line. The entire play was edge-of-your-seat stuff.

Dirtiest Play

Dater: Brooks Orpik's hit on Olli Maatta in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Orpik's resulting three-game suspension for the hit stopped Washington in its tracks and made the Penguins mad. Worst play of the playoffs.

Willis: Brooks Orpik's hit on Olli Maatta. It was high and late, and the league was right to penalize Orpik with a long suspension.

Macfarlane: This one is unanimous. That Brooks Orpik hit on Olli Maatta was devastating for the Capitals in their series against Pittsburgh. It was vicious and unnecessary. The Caps lost one of their best defensive players and a physical presence for three games because of Orpik's subsequent suspension, and that helped derail their playoff run.

Best Breakout Performance

Dater: Bryan Rust for Pittsburgh. Where did that guy come from? He made a big difference for the Penguins. The reserve forward who had only 11 points in 41 games in the regular season went off for six goals and nine points in just 23 postseason games, including the winner in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against Tampa Bay.

Willis: Matt Murray. The Lightning's Jonathan Drouin deserves an honorable mention here, but I can't pick anyone other than the rookie Cup-winning goaltender who now has more playoff wins than he does regular-season games played. We knew based on his AHL work that he was going to be good; we just didn't know he'd be this good this soon.

Macfarlane: This one is easy. Matt Murray joined impressive company with his record-tying 15 wins in the playoffs as a rookie. He may not have the same career trajectory as Patrick Roy or Ron Hextall, but his start in the postseason is just as impressive. Murray was one of the best goaltenders in the playoffs and a key piece of Pittsburgh's championship.

Most Memorable Moment

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Dater: Sidney Crosby lifting the Cup again. It's always hard to beat the captain lifting the Cup. For Crosby, it was a seven-year wait.

Willis: NBC analyst Jeremy Roenick exhorting Sidney Crosby to imitate Jonathan Drouin's work ethic.

Macfarlane: The raw emotion after all the buildup makes the raising and passing of the Stanley Cup the most memorable moment of the playoffs every season. Exactly seven years after Sidney Crosby lifted it for the first time, the Pens captain got to do it again. The most emotional pass was probably when Trevor Daley gave it to Pascal Dupuis, who was in full equipment six months after blood clots forced him to retire.

Biggest Flop

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Dater: The Rangers. Did they even play? It's hard to imagine such a veteran-laden team failing to show up, but that's exactly what happened in the first round against the Penguins. Henrik Lundqvist was awful, and his playoff-worst 4.39 goals-against average is proof enough. The Rangers are clearly in the decline.

Willis: The Kings. Three teams tied for last place in the postseason in terms of wins, but unlike the Rangers and Red Wings, Los Angeles was a legitimate Cup contender playing a franchise in the Sharks it had beaten repeatedly over the years.

Macfarlane: The Ducks. These guys were favored by many to make it out of the Western Conference Final this spring, but they fell flat in the first round against a team that had finished seven points behind them in the regular-season standings. They had two chances to eliminate the Predators, but even with all the firepower on their roster, they scored just one goal in each of those games.

Best Playoff Beard

Dater: While he couldn't finally hold the Cup, Joe Thornton earned a career achievement that's arguably just as important. His beard had a life of its own. It was the all-time playoff beard.

Willis: Joe Thornton. It was impressive, and despite some fierce competition from teammate Brent Burns in terms of volume, color and appearance, Thornton deserves the nod.

Macfarlane: Brent Burns set the bar high, but Sharks teammate Joe Thornton raised it this spring. Thornton's facial hair needed its own ZIP code. It was bushy, ratty, colorful and, most of all, real. Just ask the Blues' David Backes, who couldn't resist tugging on it during a skirmish in the Western Conference Final.

Best Viral Moment

Dater: The black cat on the ice in San Jose. And yet—the Sharks won that night! But it wasn't lucky all the way through.

Willis: The black cat in San Jose. I'm not sure there was another truly viral moment in the playoffs.

Macfarlane: Maybe this was more viral north of the border, but since the black cat has been covered, I'll suggest the Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi broadcast call of Nick Bonino's winner in Game 1 of the Cup Final—which was actually addressed by Bonino and teammates in the days following, per NHL.com's Shawn P. Roarke.

Most Jaw-Dropping Play

Dater: Brian Elliott's save against Dallas. Now that's flexibility. It was ultimately meaningless, as the Blues stomped the Stars 6-1 in Game 7, but it was the game's best highlight.

Willis: Joonas Donskoi's second goal in Game 5 against the Kings. San Jose took a 3-0 lead in the decisive game of the first-round series and then blew it, allowing three straight goals. Donskoi's goal made it 4-3 and stood up as the series-winner. It was an unexpected right-angle turn, particularly coming as it did following an ugly defensive breakdown right in front of Jonathan Quick.

Macfarlane: Maybe this is where Sidney Crosby's goal against the Lightning fits. He might not have won the Conn Smythe Trophy without it. When he cut apart the Bolts defense for the winning goal in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, he showed strength in shrugging off a check from Ondrej Palat, speed in evading Anton Stralman and Victor Hedman and skill in sniping five-hole on goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Crosby was already playing great hockey in the postseason, but that goal opened eyes.

Most Cringeworthy Moment

Dater: It'll be a staple of hockey blooper reels forever. Flyers goalie Steve Mason's inexplicable gaffe against the Capitals in Game 2 of the opening round is still painful to watch.

Willis: Jason Chimera's goal on Steve Mason. I'd like to pick something else just for variety, but I can't pass on this. The fact that it ended up being the game-winner in a contest in which Braden Holtby made 41 saves at the other end only makes it worse.

Macfarlane: Steve Mason takes the cake here, and you have to feel a little sorry for him. He made a number of good saves early in Game 2 against Washington but then allowed a long-distance redirection by Jason Chimera from about 100 feet away that ended up as the winning goal in a 4-1 Caps victory. Ouch.

Best Series

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Dater: Blues vs. Blackhawks. Though both teams ended up enduring postseason disappointment, every game was epic. With the exception of the Blackhawks' 6-3 win in Game 6, every contest was decided by a single goal. The double-overtime game—which ended on a moment of spectacular brilliance from Patrick Kane—was arguably the game of the postseason. And lastly, the final few minutes of Game 7 in St. Louis was thrilling hockey.

Willis: Washington vs. Pittsburgh. It only went six games, but three of those went to overtime, and the only contest that wasn't agonizingly close right to the dying second was the Capitals' 3-1 win in Game 5. Even though the Penguins' third-round series against Tampa Bay went seven games, this stood out to me as the stiffest test for the best team in these playoffs.

Macfarlane: St. Louis vs. Chicago. It actually might have made the rest of the playoffs a little tougher to watch simply because this battle was worthy of being a Stanley Cup Final. One of five seven-game series in the postseason, it was the most physical and emotional of the bunch. It's amazing the Blues had enough in the tank to get through another seven-game series before falling to the Sharks in six in the Western Conference Final.