The pursuit of the Stanley Cup over the course of a six-to-eight-week onslaught of intense hockey action tends to reveal the best – and worst – of NHL players. Springtime puck can take an NHLer's career to the next level or it can send it reeling into the abyss of postseason performances we want to forget forever. With no shortage of either up to this point of round one, this week's top 10 features a look into the most surprising playoff pantomime from the past week-and-a-half – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

10) Alexander Ovechkin

After the poor first half Ovechkin had, maybe we shouldn't be surprised that he was completely invisible while his soulless Washington Capitals were dusted aside in four games at the hands of the Cup-hungry New York Rangers. Take in Ovi's stat line from Game 4 with his team facing elimination: one hit, that's it. The future Hall-of-Famer put up goose eggs across the board Sunday as the Caps bowed out of the first round, but more importantly, Ovechkin was a ghost the entire postseason while making no impact on the outcome of any game. The production is for sure surprising, but the manner in which Ovi just went out with a whimper is likely a sign of things to come – both for himself and the Capitals as a team.

9) Vincent Trocheck

Trocheck has garnered recent love on our list before, most-recently as a potential X-factor for the Rangers in the series against Washington. If he continues to play like he is right now, he'll no longer fly under-the-radar as one of the most underrated fantasy hockey pieces with elite-level peripheral production. Trocheck has been a beast in the dot winning over 70 percent of his draws while also being a stud offensively collecting six points. We expected him to be good, but not this good.

8) Valeri Nichushkin

Considering how solid Valeri Nichushkin has been throughout his postseason career, 31 points in 68 games split between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, maybe this one is a bit less surprising than others, but the big Russian is on a heater right now. When you score a hatty in the playoffs you get some love. The Avs have the Winnipeg Jets on the brink with a 3-1 stranglehold on the series and Nichushkin's six goals are playing a big part in Colorado's potent offensive attack.

7) Brock Boeser

Speaking of hat tricks, Boeser's dramatic three-piece of tallies resurrected the Canucks from an anemic 57 minutes that almost cost them Game 4 against the Nashville Predators. Considering the carousel of goaltenders Vancouver's already had to employ in Thatcher Demko, Casey DeSmith, and, most recently, Arturs Silovs, the club should be feeling comfortable with a 3-1 series lead heading home for a pivotal Game 5. Boeser and his linemates of J.T. Miller and Pius Suter carried Vancouver to a big comeback victory on Sunday, but the Canucks' supporting cast of forwards and Quinn Hughes on the blue line need to be a lot better if they want this series taken care of in five. For history's sake, Boeser's hatty was the fifth in Canucks' history and the first since former captain Trevor Linden popped one back in 1996.

6) New York Islanders + Patrick Roy's Goalie Management

First and foremost, the Islanders are lucky to be alive as a severely outmatched team in this first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. A massive double-overtime win over a Canes crew on Saturday afternoon breathes a bit of life into an Islanders team that is clearly lacking in depth – especially at the offensive end. With that said, however, the blue paint is also an area of unexpected concern: What is Patrick Roy doing? We understand the struggles Iyla Sorokin's been through this season (25-19-12, 3.01 goals-against average, .908 save percentage), but you're not getting through any team in the playoffs, let alone going on a deep run, with perennial backup Semyon Varlamov.

Roy's tendency to run out Varlamov down the stretch was a major reason why the Isles are here, but eight goals over the first two games should've been more than enough indication to at least give Sorokin a proper chance to do his thing. Either way you slice it the Islanders are cooked, but we didn't expect this series to be as much of a cakewalk as it has been for Carolina. The Hurricanes are poised to make some serious noise over the coming weeks, time for New York to hit the links and work on the short game.

5) Brad Marchand

Death, taxes, and Brad Marchand absolutely dominating the Toronto Maple Leafs. Preseason, regular season, postseason – you name it, the Little Ball of Hate has Toronto's number and then some. Hats off to one of the best clutch performers of this generation, Marchand deserves all the credit in the world for being a rare breed and NHLer who talks a big game and backs it up with the same elite-level quality. Marchand's three tallies in the series sees him pass all-time Bruins great Cam Neely for most playoff goals and postseason game-winners in Boston's storied history with 56 and 13, respectively. Simply put, Toronto has no response for Marchand and that's been a major reason why the Leafs are once again looking for answers.

4) Canucks' Goaltending

Three wins for the Canucks with three different goaltenders. That's all that really needs to be said. If that's not surprising, we don't know what is. In terms of who gets the nod Tuesday night in Game 5, Casey DeSmith was a full participant in practice on Sunday and should be returning to the cage to help Vancouver close out the series on home ice.

3) Toronto Maple Leafs' Power-Play Unit

This is the "no excuses" time of year. William Nylander missing the first-three games with mysterious ailments doesn't matter. Mitch Marner being completely invisible at both ends of the ice doesn't matter. Auston Matthews dealing with a sickness also doesn't matter. Toronto needs to do something on the man advantage if this series is going even one more game.

The only way the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to get through their arch nemesis in the Boston Bruins in the first round was to outscore their problems. Coming into the series every NHL pundit out there gave the Bruins the edge in goal and on the blue line – for good reason. In the same vein, the only clear way for the Leafs to prevail was to exploit their "advantage" in offensive depth and on the power play. Toronto finished the regular season with the seventh-best power play in the NHL but through four games and 14 chances the Buds have registered an embarrassing one goal. Combine the struggles of the Core Four and you have Sheldon Keefe's crew on the brink once again.

2) Edmonton Oilers' Penalty Kill

Coming into this series of familiar foes with two high-powered offenses, most NHL experts pegged the Edmonton Oilers power-play as a major difference-maker, especially when you consider that Connor McDavid and Co. had the fourth-best efficiency on the man advantage during the regular season while clicking at an impressive 26.3%. However, not many predicted that the Oilers' penalty-killing would be one of the biggest X-factors in this battle. Edmonton killed penalties at the 15th-best rate during the regular season but has been suffocating while down a man through three games against the Kings in the playoffs.

L.A. has no goals to show for nine chances on the power play and despite a near-perfect game from the forward and defensive group on Sunday (allowing only 13 shots on David Rittich), the Kings are going to need to get something going in a hurry on special teams if they want to turn this bad boy around.

1) Connor Hellebuyck

What is going on with this year's shoo-in Vezina Trophy winner? Last postseason Hellebuyck looked completely gassed while losing four-straight games in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup champions in the Vegas Golden Knights, and a big concern heading into this matchup against the high-powered offense of the Colorado Avalanche was how Hellebuyck would hold up after another regular season of 60 games. Hellebuyck has looked like a complete shell of himself over the past four games, allowing 19 goals while rocking an ugly .870 SV.%. Not many goalies have as much mileage on them or have faced as much rubber as Hellebuyck over the past five seasons and it's starting to show once again. After a stellar season that saw Hellebuyck post a 37-19-4 record, 2.39 GAA, .921 SV.%, and five shutouts, the past four games are definitely the biggest surprise of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.