Building the ultimate NHL playoff team from 2018 contenders

First Line

Alex Ovechkin

Alexander the Great. The weight has been lifted. Think about how Ovechkin could look after finally getting his first Cup? I don’t even want to know how good he can be.

Ovechkin tops the group of forwards, and for good reason. When the Capitals were struggling at points in series prior to the Stanley Cup Final, Ovechkin was more aggressive than anyone — aggressive on the forecheck, screening, making players around him better as he usually does.

This one was for him.

There is no bigger cause of goosebumps than seeing the Cup lifted. Seeing a guy like Ovechkin finally achieve that while also casually having 27 points in the postseason is awesome.

William Karlsson

Wild Bill Karlsson went from 45 points in two seasons to an unbelievable 2017-18 campaign in Las Vegas. We’ve heard it before — 43 goals and 35 assists. It was a great year for William Karlsson. Play as a part of that dangerous first line, Karlsson showed out in the playoffs this year.

He added a goal of the season contender against San Jose in the Second Round to boot.

https://twitter.com/HockeyCentraI/status/980311046572228608

Karlsson fits in nicely on a playoff roster teeming with top centers. What will Wild Bill do next? Let’s find out.

T.J. Oshie

Captain America. T.J. Oshie is another one of those guys you can’t help but like to see do well. Not only did Oshie step up his game this postseason, but he had this moment in mind. Winning this Cup became something to always remember, especially with his dad.

Oshie has always been a scoring threat on his own stick and others, but he took that to a new level this playoff run finishing with 21 points. The biggest compliment to Oshie is that he’s the guy who will make you pay if you let him and he can do it in multiple ways.

Second Line

Filip Forsberg

Filip “Scoresberg” fits absolutely beautifully on the left wing for this postseason team. Forsberg torched opponents in the 13 games Nashville played this postseason finishing with 16 points on seven goals and nine assists.

Add that to how lethal he can be and how hard it is to stop him when the Jets are on — who wouldn’t want that offensively?

He also socred a goal that made me audibly gasp in public so there’s that.

Forsberg wears the A with pride and after finishing with 60-plus points in three of the last four years, I want that offensive spark.

Sidney Crosby

You didn’t think we’d leave Sid out, did you? Crosby will go down as an all-time great and he doesn’t ever slow down in the postseason, either. He put up 21 points in 12 games before the Penguins’ exit against Ovi and the Capitals. That included six points in the last four games against Washington.

Crosby and Ovechkin share that driving factor. Neither will lose on their own account; they give it all. Crosby and Forsberg as a line pair? I’m in.

Crosby isn’t slowing down yet, having posted at least 80 points in every season since the half-season in 2012-13.

Patrik Laine

Patrik Laine is unbelievable. That’s coming directly from me. Nashville faced such a tough road to a Cup as the Presidents’ Trophy winner, and Laine was a big hindrance to that.

Laine is one of the most gifted scorers in the league today and carries a lot of force with him. With 12 points in the postseason, the right winger posted a point in six of the seven games against Nashville.

He can’t dance, but we won’t judge him too hard for that one.

https://twitter.com/BarSouthNCelly/status/998632076235583488

When Laine puts it all together he’s a really tough cover and he draws attention. On a line with imposing and quick position players, that’s tough to stop. With 70 points in 2017-18, I’m expecting big things on our playoff team.

Third Line

Viktor Arvidsson

Arvidsson fits the role he plays so well. He’s gotten steadily better and is sneakily one of the top forwards in the Central Division. He is a right place right time character and he’s a perfect left winger for this ultimate team.

He fills the stat sheet, with nine points in 13 games this postseason including five assists. He’s posted back to back 61 point seasons in Nashville, and I think he’s just getting started. The right line is everything.

Evgeny Kuznetsov

What a player Kuznetsov is. He was the top point getter in the postseason with 32 points, including 20 assists. TWENTY.

I can’t even talk about Kuznetsov without mentioning his pivotal Game 4 performance against Vegas. Four assists in the win to go up 3-1 and put all the pressure on the Golden Knights. Seven points in the final three games made all the difference in what the Capitals were able to achieve from top to bottom and what Vegas could.

Ovechkin couldn’t do it without Kuznetsov, and vice versa. That’s a fearsome twosome. His 12 goals in the playoffs, three on the power play and the ability to find the open man make Kuznetsov a no-brainer here.

Reilly Smith

Reilly Smith was such a big get for Vegas. That first line did damage across the board and Smith turned the jets on when it came time for postseason play. After a career high 60 points going in, Smith finished the playoffs with 22 points including 17 assists to go with his five goals.

Vegas struggled against the Capitals, but Smith made an impact in nearly every way in the Cup Final. Six points across the five-game series, including a two-point Game 5 that saw Smith giving everything he could to get Vegas another game to go.

I still think about this fantastic effort to go skate skate stick to break the tie in the last game.

Smith is a welcomed addition, as this team is all about finding that next gear.

Fourth Line

Brad Marchand

Love or hate Brad Marchand (I’m sure Tampa Bay’s Ryan Callahan chooses the former), he still continues to excel. In what was a somewhat disappointing postseason for the Bruins, Marchard delivered. Even after a tough seven games against Toronto and a lackluster series against Tampa Bay, Marchand finished with 17 points in 12 games including 13 assists.

Marchand is coming off back-to-back 85-point regular season campaigns, and the Bruins were a Final favorite heading into the postseason. The Lightning saw the end to that talk, but who wouldn’t want a zany heavy production winger like Marchand on the fourth line?

Also, can we talk about the Girardi flip?

Jake Guentzel

How can one talk production and not mention the kid? Last year I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing, and this postseason was no different. Guentzel is the definition of turning things up a notch — 21 points in 12 games, 10 goals and 11 assists. Those are video game numbers from a 23-year-old who has had a great role model to learn from in Sidney Crosby.

After last year’s showstopping performance en route to another Penguins Cup lift, Guentzel wasn’t letting the magic fade yet. 37 games in the postseason in two years with Pittsburgh and Guentzel has 23 goals and 19 assists. That’s just not fair.

He clearly works well with others. He’ll fit in here.

https://twitter.com/BarSouthNCelly/status/991502651719237632

Nikita Kucherov

Kucherov keeps the wheels rolling in Tampa Bay, and he’s the perfect end to this team. He scored 17 points this postseason on a line that produced heavily in its three matchups. Kucherov has been solid the last three postseason runs for the Lightning with 58 points to show for it.

Plus, he can bend minds:

Kucherov wills goals and assists into existence and with a production powerhouse like Guentzel and a grinder like Marchand, I wouldn’t be shocked to see massive production here.

Next: 25 most insane things people have ever done with the Stanley Cup

That’s the group. It was an awesome 2017-18 NHL season. We’re moving on to next year.

Who would you want on your postseason ultimate team? Let us know in the comments below!