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10 X-factors heading into the Stanley Cup Final
Scott Rovak/Getty Images

10 X-factors heading into the Stanley Cup Final

After a 49-year wait, the St. Louis Blues are finally back in the Stanley Cup Final, completing what seemed to be an improbable midseason turnaround with an impressive six-game series win over the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final. They will meet the Boston Bruins (their opponent in their previous Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1970) in a series that will feature two of the hottest teams in the NHL since early January.

While neither team has one of the league's top superstars on its roster, there still will be plenty of high-end, elite talent on display with Boston's Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak going against St. Louis' top forwards, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly, and all of them will have a hand in determining the result.

They will not be the only ones.

With that in mind, let us take a look at 10 X-factors who could play a significant role in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins —  When talking X-factors in a playoff series, you almost always have to start with the goalies, who can change everything. Rask has been one of the Bruins' top players (and one of the best in the entire league) in these playoffs and is playing some of the best hockey of his career. He carries a .942 save percentage into the series and has allowed just 32 goals in 17 games. If he continues on that pace, it would be one of the best postseason goaltending performances ever and will probably result in a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe Trophy for him.

Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues —  Sticking with the goalies here just because, again, these guys will dictate a lot of what happens. Binnington's postseason numbers have not been as consistently dominant as his regular-season stats, but he has still been nearly unbeatable at times. He has been at his best when the Blues have had their backs against the wall or have had a chance to knock out an opponent.

Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues —  The 19-year-old plays only about 12 minutes per night, and he has just one goal and five assists so far in the playoffs. But he always looks like he is on the verge of breaking through with a big game. The talent is obvious, the skill is always on display, and positive things always seem to happen when he is on the ice for the Blues.

Oskar Sundqvist, St. Louis Blues —  The Blues' fourth-line has been great in recent weeks, and Sundqvist has been the most impressive of that group. Entering this season he had scored just two goals and nine total points in 72 NHL games (regular season and playoffs combined) and had yet to find a permanent role. That has all changed this season with a breakout performance that included 14 goals and 31 total points in the regular season and, so far, four goals and eight total points in the playoffs. His defensive game has always been advanced for his age, and now he is starting to find some offense to go with it. All he needed was a chance.

Charlie Coyle, Boston Bruins —  One of Boston's trade deadline additions, Coyle struggled through a miserable regular season with the Minnesota Wild and Bruins, having one of the worst performances of his career. A lot of it was driven by some poor shooting luck and a career-low shooting percentage. The hope for the Bruins was that his luck might change and his shooting percentage would regress closer to its normal career level. That has happened in the playoffs where he has already scored six goals (with six assists) in 17 games. They needed secondary scoring, and he is finally providing some.

Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues — Schenn is a pretty big X-factor for the Blues just because he has been so quiet offensively in the playoffs. Every season you know you can pencil him in for at least 55 points during the regular season and top-six production. But he had an extremely slow start to the postseason (just four points in his first 15 games) and is finally showing some signs of breaking out of that with at least one point in three of the past four games. The Blues are controlling the puck when he is on the ice, he is generating shots, and it is only a matter of time until more of those chances start finding the back of the net.

Marcus Johansson, Boston Bruins —  The Bruins' other big trade deadline acquisition. Injuries have really sidetracked Johansson's career the past two seasons, and it has been difficult for him to establish a role for himself because of them. He is still a really talented player who can provide some offense, and that talent has showed itself at times in these playoffs.

Brandon Carlo, Boston Bruins — If you are looking for offense from the Bruins' blue line, you are going to look toward Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug, two exceptionally talented defenders who produce a ton. Carlo is not going to play that style of game, and that is OK because he is going to do a lot of other things extremely well. He has been an outstanding defensive player for the Bruins and has posted great possession numbers despite being given some of the toughest defensive assignments on the team.

Jake DeBrusk, Boston Bruins — The Bruins had three consecutive first-round picks during the 2015 draft and had a chance to select the likes of Mathew Barzal and Kyle Connor. They did not, and in hindsight it is looking like a big missed opportunity. That does not mean they didn't still get a really good player. DeBrusk was the first of those three first-round picks and has started to emerge as a perfect complement to the Bruins' superstars up front. He scored 27 goals in only 64 games during the regular season and is probably due for a breakout performance in the playoffs. He has only three goals in 17 games entering the series thanks almost entirely to a 6 percent shooting percentage that is unsustainably low. That number will get back to his career average at some point, and it could be a game-changer for the Bruins if it starts to happen in this series.

Joel Edmundson, St. Louis Blues —  St. Louis has a pretty outstanding defense with Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko leading the way as their big-minute players, while Jay Bouwmeester is going to become the sentimental favorite as he plays in his first Stanley Cup Final after 15 seasons and more than 1,100 games in the NHL. Edmundson can kind of get forgotten about, but he is far from an afterthought. He has some of the best possession numbers on the team in the playoffs (Blues are attempting more than 54 percent of the shot attempts when he is on the ice) and was outstanding in the Western Conference Final series against the Sharks, playing 20 minutes per night and recording four total points, including a two-assist effort in the Blues' Game 2 win. He may not be the biggest name on the blue line, but he can definitely produce.



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