5 players who wowed us in NHL Conference Finals

WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate defeating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals to advance to the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Canada. (Photo by David Lipnowski/Getty Images) /

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TAMPA, FL – MAY 11: Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) reacts to scoring a goal during the first period of the first game of the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning on May 11, 2018, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Alexander Ovechkin

Ovi always performs. He’s never performed at this level, however, and to see the success he had in the Eastern Conference Final is definitely the most enjoyable story of the week, outside of Vegas. Ovechkin deserves this moment, and clearly he’s never been happier.

Ovechkin turned in great performances all series but even without perfect point production, his effort in the last two games can’t go unnoticed.

In a must-win Game 6, Ovechkin was everywhere on the ice. Jumping around, chasing pucks, creating. I even said that I expected the same in Game 7, typo and all (sorry, James Harden fans). He hadn’t been there; he wanted to go there.

Biggest thing tonight calls back to Monday. Did you see how Ovevhkin was just flying around? Absolutely created a lot of great chances early. Eventually Caps struck and didn’t look back. I expect Ovi to go anti Harden game six against SA and create even more.
— Connor (@brucewinless) May 23, 2018

Flash forward to Game 7, where he struck quickly to put the Capitals up 1-0 en route to the 4-0 win.

Alex Ovechkin on the board a minute into Game 7 pic.twitter.com/uDOU7Y0JGb
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 24, 2018

Another Capital we’ll talk about padded the lead and the Capitals looked supremely better than Tampa. Another road stomp in Game 7, just like Winnipeg did in Nashville.

Alex Ovechkin going to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in his career. Pure happiness. pic.twitter.com/KOWGEgWwTi
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) May 24, 2018

Ovechkin sits at 22 points this postseason heading into the Final with 12 goals and 10 assists to his credit. Goals are his specialty, but it’s the plays he made off shots or even shot creation that elevated the Capitals. Here they are finally going for something even their fans didn’t think was possible of late.

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