Ranking the top 10 Conn Smythe Trophy candidates

Center. Tampa Bay Lightning. Tyler Johnson. 1. player. 23. <p>Tyler Johnson centered the best line during the regular season with Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat flanked by his side, and that regular season success has carried over to the postseason. It’s tough to separate the three, even for Tampa coach Jon Cooper, but I’m singling out Johnson, and for good reason.</p> <p>The diminutive center, who finished as the runner-up in the Calder last year, leads the postseason with 11 goals and 16 points following the first playoff hat trick in franchise history in Game 2.</p> <p>His first goal came shorthanded to give Tampa a 1-0 lead; the second came on the power play to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead; and his third was the game-winner. Not a bad day at the rink.</p> <p>It was also his fourth multi-goal game of the postseason, with the first three coming in the first round against Detroit. His Game 4 performance against the Red Wings may be the best of the postseason, when he scored at 14:34 to make it a 2-1 game, then assisted on Palat’s goal 77 seconds later to force overtime. In overtime, Johnson scored the game winner 2:25 in to tie the series and avoid falling in a 3-1 hole.</p>