2011 NHL Playoffs: Top 10 Players to Come Out of Nowhere to Make an Impact

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are very often won by the team that has the most players that are able to make that leap to the next level. Production from the third line is necessary for every team's success in the playoffs.

After the remarkable performance of Ville Leino last season, here are the top 10 players that raised their games for this year's playoffs.

10. Dan Girardi

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NEW YORK - MARCH 22: Dan Girardi #5 of the New York Rangers skates against the Florida Panthers on March 22, 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Rangers defeated the Islanders 1-0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

The only reason that he is so low on this list is because his team bowed out of the playoffs in a measly five games. However, if there was ever a player that gave it his all for a team that was destined for failure, it is Girardi.

In only five games, he blocked a total of 26 shots. To put that in perspective, that is more than Zdeno Chara, Kevin Bieksa and Shea Weber in significantly more games. The man was a beast and would definitely be higher on this list if he was given the chance for a larger sample size.

At a salary of $3.25 million, it looks like the Rangers have locked up a steal for the foreseeable future.

9. Michael Ryder

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BOSTON, MA - MAY 17: Michael Ryder #73 of the Boston Bruins controls the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 17, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts. (P

I do not think we have seen Ryder make such an impact on the game since his first three seasons as an up-and-coming star for the Montreal Canadiens. While the expectations have certainly cooled from Ryder, he has certainly been making a name for himself in these playoffs.

While his statistics do not appear to be particularly special, if you have been watching his game and the chemistry he has developed with Tyler Seguin, you would understand why he is No. 9. He has been doing all of the little things right and is scoring some big goals with two game-winners. Maybe it is because he is in a contract year. Who knows?

One thing is becoming quite clear, though: The Bruins will certainly have some decision-making to do come this summer.

8. Simon Gagne

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TAMPA, FL - MAY 21: Simon Gagne #12 of the Tampa Bay Lightning scores a third period goal past Tomas Kaberle #12 and Tim Thomas #30 of the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at St Pete Tim

Wow, where has this guy been?!? All season long Gagne was suffering from a serious injury to his neck, as well as a curious case of a professional athlete that lost his talent.

Over the course of the season Gagne had 40 points in 63 games and was a minus-12. In the playoffs he has 12 points in 13 games played and most shockingly has a plus-seven rating.

While he clearly turned it on towards the middle of March, the drastic improvement in play has finally shown that the Lightning made a good decision taking the chance on him when they traded for him this past offseason.

Like Ryder, Gagne also is in the final year of his deal. I wonder if the two of them have the same thing on their minds.

7. Dennis Seidenberg

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BOSTON, MA - MAY 23: Dennis Seidenberg #44 of the Boston Bruins controls the puck in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 23, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts

Playing behind two better-known defencemen in Chara and Thomas Kaberle has not helped contribute to the fame that Seidenberg deserves, but hockey fans are finally starting to take notice of this guy.

Seidenberg is third in the playoffs in minutes played, and he plays equal time on the PP and PK. He has been the No. 2 guy that the Bruins have gone to since the Kaberle experiment continues to be a failure. He has even contributed with eight points in the playoffs and has provided the necessary offence to this Bruins team that it needs from the back end to compete.

6. Ryane Clowe

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LOS ANGELES - SEPTEMBER 27: Ryan Clowe #38 of the San Jose Sharks skates with the puck during a game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center on September 27, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. The Sharks won 5-3. (Photo by Noah Graham/Getty I

While he is not exactly an average player, the fact that he carried the team on his back against the Kings until Joe Thornton got going is worthy of mention.

Also, his return from an upper body injury really gave his team some inspiration, as they were able to avoid a catastrophic collapse against the Red Wings.

Clowe had seven points in the series against Los Angeles, and they all came in the four games that the Sharks won. His hard hitting and physical play were really key to the Sharks' partial success this postseason.

5. Brad Marchand

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BOSTON, MA - MAY 23: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins controls the puck in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 23, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts. (

While the entire NHL world has been salivating over the play of some of the other rookies, Marchand is often overlooked. The reason for this is because he very rarely plays like a rookie.

Marchand is always calm and full of composure and has a very solid defensive game. He led rookie forwards in plus-minus in the regular season and is leading all rookies in the playoffs.

His offensive numbers are pretty impressive as well. He has six goals and 12 points, putting him second behind Logan Couture for rookie points.

The calmness and poised play of Marchand have been a welcome addition to this Bruins team, a team that seems significantly deeper at forward than people expected.

4. Joel Ward

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - MAY 7: Joel Ward #29 celebrates with Shea Weber #6 of the Nashville Predators after scoring a goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period in Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup

Joel Ward had a fantastic battle with Ryan Kesler in the second round of the playoffs. Along with Pekka Rinne, they made it an extremely competitive series despite being seriously outclassed in terms of talent.

Ward factored in eight of the 11 goals scored by the Predators in the series and really established himself as a young, up-and-coming power forward in the league. While people have been excited for Wayne Simmonds and Curtis Glencross, Joel Ward has shown himself to be a similar player that just does not get the recognition he deserves.

So while this series was supposed to be about the Canucks offence versus the Predators defence, Ward did a great job stealing the spotlight.

3. Sean Bergenheim

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TAMPA, FL - MAY 21: Sean Bergenheim #10 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates scoring a his second period goal against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at St Pete Times Forum on May

Sean Bergenheim had a fantastic series against the Washington Capitals. Every time they needed a timely goal, the rugged third-liner was up to the task.

One telling statistic that highlights the importance that Bergenheim has for this team: The Lightning are 7-1 in games when he scores a goal. Their only loss was in overtime to the Penguins in Game 4, which was only due to the brutal goal that James Neal was able to score on Dwayne Roloson.

The Lightning have some of the top-end talent in the entire NHL, but they would not have advanced this far without their role players like Sean Bergenheim stepping up their game.

As a Leafs fan, the rise of Bergenheim seems eerily similar to that of Alyn McCauley in the early years of this millennium: a good role player that will give it his all when it counts.

2. James van Riemsdyk

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 02: James van Riemsdyk #21 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Bruins during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 2, 2011 in Philadelphia,

JVR has finally arrived! In similar fashion to fellow American Bobby Ryan, this guy was written off because he did not make it to the NHL straight from the draft.

While for the past year he has been slowly developing into a star power forward, in the playoffs he took his game to the next level entirely. If he keeps on playing like this, he could turn into the best power forward the league has seen since Todd Bertuzzi in his prime.

His seven goals in 11 games is extremely impressive, but the most telling stat of his persistence in crashing the net and causing all sorts of ruckus for the goalies was his 70 shots. That is almost seven shots a game!

With so many teams knocking on the door and trying to snag him away from Paul Holmgren, it was looking more and more like the right decision to keep him.

1. Teddy Purcell

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BOSTON, MA - MAY 23: Teddy Purcell #16 of the Tampa Bay Lightning controls the puck in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Bruins during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on May 23, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts. (

Trivia question: The top goal scorer in the entire NHL playoffs is an undrafted player from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Well, the answer to that question is actually Martin St. Louis—but ten years after unearthing St. Louis as a future superstar in the league, it seems that Lightning may have struck in the same place twice.

Purcell has 17 points in the playoffs and is looking more and more like a future star on this league. He had a solid 51 points this season in an extremely limited role.

Not that bringing back Gagne at a significant cost was ever an option, but Purcell has made it extremely clear that it is unnecessary. He has meshed nicely with Vincent Lecavalier and helped the former Rocket Richard Trophy winner find his game in these playoffs.

If someone would have told me that Steven Stamkos would be fifth in points (six because Gagne is really ahead of him because he played three games less) and the Lightning would be one win away from the Stanley Cup Final, I would have thought they were insane. However, with the performances of Purcell, Bergenheim, Steve Downie and Dominic Moore, this team has shown more fight that anyone would have ever imagined.