2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Power Ranking the Remaining Teams by Toughness

Grit.

Mental toughness.

They are almost cliches when talking about sports, but it is undeniable that you need them to win in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

As the second round winds to a close, separating the pretenders from the contenders, I'll take a look at the grit and toughness of the remaining six teams competing for the Holy Grail of hockey.

There are some quantifiable statistics we can look at.

Hits, penalty minutes and takeaways to a lesser extent, demonstrate how often a team is throwing their bodies around to bang and crash.

Blocked shots and penalty killing show how willing a team is to sacrifice their bodies and outwork their opponents.

I've ranked the teams based on these quantifiable statistics, but I've also considered the intangibles (another sports cliche) that matter so much when talking about mental toughness.

As always, if you disagree, feel free to post your own rankings in the comments.

6th: Nashville Predators

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 30: Shane O'Brien #55 of the Nashville Predators knocks Tanner Glass #15 of the Vancouver Canucks down onto the ice during the first period in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff

Hits: 279 (28 per game) 4th

Blocked Shots: 144 (14 per game) 5th

Take Aways: 73 (seven per game) 4th

Penalty Minutes: 105 minutes (11 minutes per game) 6th

Penalty Kill: 68.60 percent 6th

Intangibles

I was surprised when I ran the statistics and found that Nashville was ranked so low. Usually the Predators are the hardest working team on the ice, as they need to play a team game to make up a deficit of talent.

However, it appears a physical series against the Mighty Ducks in the first round, and then another physical series against the Canucks in the second round is sapping their strength.

The Predators aren't hitting or blocking shots like they used to. Luckily they don't take many penalties, as their penalty kill, usually a strength, is atrocious.

5th: Boston Bruins

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BOSTON, MA - MAY 06: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins exchanges blows with Scott Hartnell #19 of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 6, 2011 in Boston,

Hits: 282 (26 per game) Tied for 5th

Blocked Shots: 169 (15 per game) 4th

Take Aways: 61 (six per game) Tied for 5th

Penalty Minutes: 134 minutes (12 minutes per game) Tied for 3rd

Penalty Kill: 80.50 percent 3rd

Intangibles

The Bruins lost the first two games of their series with the Canadiens in Boston, and then had to travel to Montreal for Games 3 and 4. They showed great mental strength in battling back to not only win that series, but to sweep the very physical Flyers in the second round.

Eliminating the Flyers was especially nice for the Bruins, as they had allowed the Flyers to come back from being down 3-0 in the playoffs last year.

The lack of hitting from the Bruins is surprising, given the physical nature of their two series, as well as the size of their forwards.

4th: Detroit Red Wings

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DETROIT - MAY 4: Jonathan Ericsson #52 of the Detroit Red Wings checks Ian White #9 of the San Jose Sharks in the third period in Game Three of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 4, 2011 at Joe Louis Arena i

Hits: 244 (31 per game) 2nd

Blocked Shots: 127 (16 per game) 3rd

Take Aways: 71 (nine per game) Tied for 1st

Penalty Minutes: 93 minutes (12 minutes per game) 3rd

Penalty Kill: 71.4 percent 5th

Intangibles

The Red Wings are surprisingly second amongst the remaining teams for hits per game. What isn't surprising is that they are tied for first for take aways, as Mike Babcock's team always hustles.

The Red Wings were missing Henrik Zetterberg from the entire first round, and Johan Franzen is nursing an ankle injury that forced him to miss a game as well.

But Pavel Datsyuk led the depleted Red Wings to an easy looking sweep of the Phoenix Coyotes, a nice show of mental toughness by a team that had built in excuses if they had faltered.

3rd: San Jose Sharks

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SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 01: Johan Franzen #93 of the Detroit Red Wings and Dan Boyle #22 of the San Jose Sharks collide in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at HP Pavilion on May 1, 2011 in San Jose, Califo

Hits: 291 (29 per game) 3rd

Blocked Shots: 184 (18 per game) 2nd

Take Aways: 78 (eight per game) 3rd

Penalty Minutes: 144 minutes (14 minutes per game) 2nd

Penalty Kill: 77.5 percent 4th

Intangibles

Let's be honest, the Sharks don't have a reputation as a mentally tough team. But they have been proving their critics wrong this year. 

In a crucial Game 3, with the Sharks vs. Kings series tied 1-1, the Sharks stormed back from a four-goal deficit to win in overtime. The Kings never recovered, and the Sharks went on to win the series.

In the second round, up 3-0 in the series against Detroit, the Sharks fell behind early in Game 4. Down by three goals on the road, it would have been easy to mail it in, and then try to finish up the series once they returned to San Jose for Game 5. But the Sharks again showed resiliency, scoring three straight goals to tie the game, only to lose with a last-minute goal by Detroit.

One area of weakness, however, is the penalty kill. If the Sharks could improve that by outworking their opponents, they might not have to come back from being down so often.

2nd: Tampa Bay Lightning

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TAMPA, FL - MAY 03: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals hits Eric Brewer #2 of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at St Pete Times Forum on May 3, 2011 in Tampa, Flor

Hits: 290 (26 per game) Tied for 5th

Blocked Shots: 233 (21 per game) 1st

Take Aways: 64 (six per game) Tied for 5th

Penalty Minutes: 134 minutes (12 minutes per game) Tied for 3rd

Penalty Kill: 94.40 percent 2nd

Intangibles

The Lightning stormed back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins. If that wasn't enough of an achievement, they then proceeded to roll over the top-seeded Washington Capitals, handily disposing of them in four games.

Tampa Bay achieves their success with timely scoring, but also by outworking their opponent every shift. This effort doesn't show in hits or takeaways due to their 1-3-1 system precluding a heavy fore check, but it does show in other areas.

The Lightning are head and shoulders above the other teams in blocked shots and the penalty kill, areas where the willingness to sacrifice your body and outwork your opponent are key.

1st: Vancouver Canucks

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 13: Dan Hamhuis #2 of the Vancouver Canucks gives Patrick Kane #88 of the Chicago Blackhawks a push to the face during the third period in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Hits: 385 (35 per game) 1st

Blocked Shots: 134 (12 per game) 6th

Take Aways: 104 (nine per game) Tied for 1st

Penalty Minutes: 160 minutes (15 minutes per game) 1st

Penalty Kill: 84.1 percent 2nd

Intangibles

The Canucks were known as a soft, skilled team. But on the opening faceoff of the playoffs, the Canucks showed a new side, and proceeded to run the Blackhawks out of the rink. Their hitting has slowed a bit, but the Canucks have still increased their hits per game average from 21 in the regular season to 35 in the playoffs. 

The Canucks are the most physical team in the playoffs, leading in both hits and penalty minutes. So its probably a good thing they have a good penalty kill.

They also showed mental fragility by allowing the Blackhawks to come back from being down 3-0 in the series. But they then showed some mental toughness by shaking off blowout losses in Games 4 and 5 to beat the Hawks in Game 7 overtime.