World champion edges home on fifth match ball 
By MATT COLES  

World champion Ali Farag completed a stunning comeback from two games down to beat Tarek Momen in the semi-finals of the El Gouna Open.

It was a thrilling battle as Farag fought back to win the third and fourth games. He held match ball at 10-6 in the fifth but then it was Momen’s turn to show his spirit as he pulled back to 10-10. But this time there was no stopping Farag as he duly completed the job on his fifth match ball.

His victory in the final match of the evening means that both the men’s and women’s finals of the El Gouna International, PSA World Tour Platinum tournament will be all-Egyptian clashes, as Farag, Karim Abdel Gawad, Nouran Gohar and Raneem El Welily all tasted victory on the glass court at Abu Tig Marina.

World No.1 Farag is into the final for the second year in a row after a sensational scrap against World No.3 Momen in a repeat of March’s PSA World Championship final, winning 9-11, 2-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10 in 84 minutes.

Farag, 27, lost out to compatriot Marwan ElShorbagy in the final 12 months ago, and will have the chance to go a step further after denying Momen a place in a fourth successive PSA Tour final.

Farag revealed: “I couldn’t be more proud of today. I didn’t start the game badly, but by the end of the first, and then the entirety of the second game, he was standing in front of me.

“He did so for the whole game really, and I couldn’t get the ball back in the deep corners. I have to say thanks to Karim [Darwish] and Nour [El Tayeb] in my corner.

“You know, some days, some people make the difference. Today, looking at my brother who I haven’t seen for a while, he gave me the energy which made all the difference and I am really happy to be through.

“Tarek played really well when he was down. He was attacking really well and he played both points so well. At 10-10, I told myself that it was not lost, and that we were still all even. All credit to Tarek, he never makes it easy but I am over the moon with the win and to be in another final here in El Gouna.”

Farag will aim to avenge his defeat to former World No.1 Gawad in the final of December’s Black Ball Open, with Gawad beating wildcard Fares Dessouky 5-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-1 to reach a second El Gouna International final.

Gawad fell to a one-game deficit and looked on the ropes as Dessouky looked to follow up a quarter-final scalp of World No.2 ElShorbagy. But he found his range towards the back end of the second and stayed out in front to earn his spot in the title decider.

Gawad said: “I didn’t play my best squash today. I feel that in the first game I was picking up the ball for him! So from the second on, I tried and forget about it and push as much as I could, and to stay as strong as I could mentally.

“It was a bit scrappy at times, but this is the outdoor conditions, squash is also an outdoor sport, and we are used to it. I also need to salute Fares, he is just back from an ACL injury, and the way he came back shows how strong and how professional he is.”

Meanwhile, Gohar advanced to her first Platinum final since August 2016 after beating France’s Camille Serme in four games at Abu Tig Marina. The Egyptian last reached a final of a Platinum event at the Hong Kong Open and will have the chance to add a second Platinum title to her trophy haul after an 11-1, 6-11, 11-5, 11-4 triumph.

“I am feeling very happy right now, I cannot express what I feel at the moment. It’s my first final since 2016, but more importantly, I’m playing well again,” Gohar said.

“My game plan was to put as much pressure on her I could, but making sure I was as accurate as possible. Camille is physically so strong, I cannot reach the ball when she plays her short game, so I had to make sure I was as tight and precise as I could today.”

Her final opponent will be defending champion Raneem El Welily after she eased to a straight games victory over US No.1 Amanda Sobhy. She had won 10 of their 11 previous meetings against the American, with Sobhy’s only victory coming at the 2016 Tournament of Champions.

It was the American that started the stronger, as she controlled the first game. However, Welily saved two game balls as she won four straight points to turn the game around from 10-8 down to win it 12-10. The second and third games were much more comfortable for the World No.1.

She secured her spot in the final for a second successive year, while she also made it to the final of the women’s PSA World Championships when they were held in El Gouna in 2017. The win also sees Welily move to 12 matches unbeaten, the longest run of her career.

“We are both shot makers so it was always going to be the one who moves to the front first. It was not easy, there was a lot of work involved,” El Welily explained.

“Obviously, winning 3-0 in 27 minutes is a great advantage as I will be fresh for tomorrow’s final. I’m very happy to play against Nouran, she played fantastic squash this week, she is a terrific player, we had a lot of great matches this season, and no doubt tomorrow will be another great battle.”

The action comes to a conclusion tomorrow as the finals take place at Abu Tig Marina. Play will start at 19:30 local time (GMT+2).

The finals will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (Indian subcontinent only). 

El Gouna International Open 2019 (PSA men’s and women’s $176k tournaments), Abu Tig Marina, El Gouna, Egypt.

Men’s Semi-Finals:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [3] Tarek Momen (EGY) 9-11, 2-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10 (84m)
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [WC] Fares Dessouky (EGY) 5-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-1 (68m)
Final:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)

Women’s Semi-Finals:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [13] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 12-10, 11-4, 11-6 (27m)
[8] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [4] Camille Serme (FRA) 11-1, 6-11, 11-5, 11-4 (46m)
Final:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [8] Nouran Gohar (EGY)

Pictures courtesy of  

Worcester Warriors hooker Jack Singleton will rejoin Saracens this summer on a three-year deal.

He is to return to Allianz Park where he played for the Saracens academy before leaving in 2014.

"It's a homecoming for me," said 22-year-old Singleton. "It's the club I supported from a young age and used to watch regularly."

His departure follows the announcement that Worcester have signed hooker Matt Moulds from New Zealand side Blues.

Singleton will replace Christopher Tolofua in the Sarries squad, with the France international set to leave for Toulon.

He made his Premiership debut for Worcester in 2016, having impressed for the club in the A League and earned a call-up for England Under-20s.

He has also toured Argentina and South Africa with the senior England side and played in an uncapped match against the Barbarians but is yet to win a full cap.

"I'd like to thank Worcester for an incredible five years. They gave me the chance to progress as a player and have helped me develop immensely in that period. I'm extremely grateful to them," he said.

Saracens director of Rugby Mark McCall added: "We're pleased to have signed a player of Jack's quality; someone who knows the club well, having been in our academy.

"He has significantly progressed his rugby with Worcester and we are excited to see what more is to come."

Fly-half Dan Biggar would not begrudge Wales head coach Warren Gatland taking the England job after he leaves his current post - but he expects the New Zealander to be in huge demand.

Gatland's 12-year Wales reign will end after the World Cup this autumn.

He has been linked with England and is also in the frame for a third stint as British and Irish Lions head coach.

"I am sure he won't be short of offers and be able to pick and choose what he wants to do," said Biggar.

"It depends how much England are going to pay him beforehand I think!"

Asked if he could imagine Gatland switching from Wales to their oldest rivals, Biggar added: "Why not?

"At the end of the day Gats is from New Zealand so in my opinion it's like if I went to coach in Australia for 10 years and then New Zealand came and offered me a job.

"My personal opinion is that it is not like I would be betraying Australia to go to New Zealand because I am not from there.

"Gats has been with Wales for so long and produced so much success that I am he sure he has a big affiliation to Wales.

"I suppose he is now unemployed after the World Cup and looking for a job. He is going to have the top clubs and teams after him because of what he has achieved.

"I am sure whatever he does he will be successful in the next chapter."

'Wales can't go under the radar'

The Northampton fly-half has won all of his 70 Wales caps under the New Zealander.

Biggar was used mainly as a replacement this season during the 14-match winning sequence, with only three starts, and provided match-winning contributions from the bench against Australia, France and England.

"Warren has been a big influence on my career," said Biggar.

"It is not as if I have been his go-to man throughout my entire career and it has taken me years.

"You have to earn Warren's trust. When he trusts you and you are a go-to guy, you know you are in a good place.

"It takes a fair bit to convince him and he knows what players' strengths are and he is a good man manager.

"He never gave some huge praise and he knows he wants to keep me hungry."

Six Nations success means Wales are currently ranked second in the world behind the All Blacks ahead of the World Cup in Japan.

"It would be very difficult to say we are going to try and go under the radar now - we are Grand Slam champions," said Biggar.

"There is so much time between now and then but we are going there, like every other team in that competition, to try and be the best team in that tournament."

Dan Biggar was talking on BBC Radio Northampton's The Saints Show to Graham McKechnie and Lennie Newman.

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Michael Self enters Friday’s ARCA Menards Series General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway on a hot streak.

After being involved in a crash duringthe opening laps of the season opener at Daytona Int’l Speedway in February, Self has rebounded with consecutive victories at Florida’s Five Flags Speedway and Indiana’s Salem Speedway.

The General Tire 200 at the 2.66-mile track provides Self with an opportunity to do a number of things. First, it provides him with an opportunity to move into the series point lead. He trails leader Travis Braden by five points.

Secondly, should Self perform well enough to earn a visit to victory lane at the superspeedway, he would become the first driver since Austin Theriault in 2017 to earn three consecutive ARCA victories.

Self admits that earning his third straight ARCA triumph will be difficult, especially when that opportunity comes at a track like Talladega.

“It’s so hard at Talladega to know. There is just so much that is out of your hands as a driver,” said Self, who has an ARCA superspeedway victory on his resume at Daytona in 2018. “It’s unrealistic to go in saying we’ve got a great a shot at a win this weekend. I mean, do we have a good shot? Sure, because we have great equipment, but it’s Talladega.

“We had a great car at Daytona and we ran 31st because I got wrecked on lap three. The same thing could just as easily happen this weekend.”

In addition to Self’s shot at three straight victories, his Venturini Motorsports squad enters the weekend with an opportunity to continue its dominant start to the year. In addition to Self’s victories at Five Flags and Salem, the Venturini operation won the opener at Daytona with Harrison Burton.

Self will be joined at Talladega by his full-time Venturini teammate Christian Eckes, who is returning to action after an illness sidelined him at Salem, as well as part-time competitor Brandon Lynn.

Can the trio continue Venturini’s winning ways? Self says it’s hard to say, but they’ll give it their best shot.

“They definitely have the resources to do it. All the parts are in place,” Self said. “I think that the three drivers that are going to be there, myself, Christian and Brandon, I think any one of us has the ability to do it, the skills and the knowledge to do it. It’s just going to be the circumstances and who we surround ourselves with on that day and what kind of place we can put ourselves in.”

If Self isn’t able to put his Sinclair-backed No. 25 Toyota in victory lane, he said he’ll be happy to simply escape Talladega unscathed. In some ways, that would be like a victory.

“I think this is one where I’m more like I just want to get past and not have a horrible day,” Self noted. “Salvage a good day if we can’t salvage a great day and get past this one and just move forward. Just avoid the carnage and try and hold where we’re at in the point standings at least. Not lose ground, maybe gain a little more if we can and move onto Nashville next weekend.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Before placing a commemorative bronze brick into Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s famed Yard of Bricks start/finish line on a rainy Thursday morning, legendary A.J. Foyt recalled what it was like back in the day to race on that surface.

The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner’s name and the four years he won The Greatest Spectacle in Racing – in 1961, ’64, ’67 and ’77 – are carved on the specially produced brick.

“All I can say is I won it with the whole straightaway of bricks,” said Foyt, 84, referring to his first win 58 years ago. “I won it with the Yard of Bricks. It was a lot better when they took the bricks up (and paved the front straight with asphalt) because it was rough. It would take the fillings out of your teeth when you’d run across them.”

Two more bricks, honoring fellow four-time Indy 500 winners Al Unser and Rick Mears, will be added at a later date.

“I’m glad to be the first one,” said Foyt, appropriate since he was the first four-time winner. “You always want to be first. That means a lot to me. I never was happy when I ran second or third. That was my whole life. I didn’t want to settle for second or third. I had to a lot, but I wasn’t happy about it.”

Hulman & Co. President and CEO Mark Miles, IMS President Doug Boles and brick creator Bud Tucker of IMS were on hand to unveil the brick.

Tucker used silicone bronze to create the 18-pound brick in the welding shop on IMS grounds. Foyt was also given an identical brick mounted in granite to take back home to Texas.

“I’m glad to have been a part of it,” said Tucker, who has worked at IMS as a welder and fabricator for 15 years. “His legacy will go on. As an artist, that’s what I wanted to make sure of.”

Boles explained how this new tradition was a twist from 1909, when Indiana Gov. Thomas Marshall helped IMS founding partner Carl Fisher place a commemorative brick at the start/finish line when the original 3.2 million paving bricks were installed.

In 1961, that tradition continued when IMS owner Tony Hulman placed a gold brick at the start/finish line, joined by Ray Harroun, winner 50 years earlier of the first Indy 500, and Louis Schwitzer, the first winner of a 5-mile, two-lap race at the track in 1909.

Boles reminded this is the second time Foyt has placed a brick among the 573 remaining on the track. He joined IMS chairman Mari Hulman George to do the honors in 2011 in commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the Indianapolis 500.

“The driver bricks are going to be in the fourth row, four rows from the center,” Boles said. “We’re playing off the fours.

“There’s one spot left, and we’re hoping maybe Helio Castroneves can join that group,” Boles said. “We’re trying to give him extra incentive this year to really go after his fourth win, so we can celebrate another four-time winner.”

Tucker confided that when he created the first brick, he thought he had made a mistake because of all the nicks in the creation.

“Then I got the original brick out and saw that it picked up every detail in the original,” Tucker said.

That made sense to Foyt, who said of those old bricks, “They had a lot of marks in them.”

Foyt, a native of Houston, was in town for Wednesday’s NTT IndyCar Series Open Test to see how his two-car team looked in preparation for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26.

He recalled how he arrived at the track as a rookie in 1958 and never imagined he would still be coming back 61 years later.

“It’s nice to be honored here, but who thought I’d still be living and talking to you today,” Foyt said. “I damn sure didn’t think I’d be here, but I’m here.”

Then he repeated a familiar testimony of what Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 mean to him.

“A lot of drivers who won this race felt they built Indianapolis,” Foyt said. “Indianapolis is what made A.J. Foyt what he is today. I won a lot of great races all over the United States, but the one race that’s always important to me was right here, and it still is.”

Not known for being overly sentimental, Foyt likes the idea of knowing his name will be remembered literally in the track long after he’s gone.

“It’s a great honor to be back here this many times,” Foyt said. “I’d like to be here another 50 or 60 years. I know that’s not going to happen. At least I’ll have a brick that people can look at.”

NAPLES, Maine – For Maine race fans, the wait is finally over as short track racing returns to Oxford Plains Speedway this weekend.

Following a postponement two weeks ago due to snow still being on the ground, the Pro All Stars Series North super late models will make their first stop of the season in Maine on Sunday for the Honey Badger Bar & Grill 150.

If that’s not enough, a full slate of weekly racing at Oxford Plains Speedway will kick off on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. featuring the headlining super late model division. The PASS Modifieds will have their first action of the season on Saturday and Sunday as well.

To cap it all off, the Road To The Oxford 250 begins on Saturday on the opposite side of the map in Washington state at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval and then on Sunday it continues with the PASS race at Oxford Plains.

Memorable PASS North finishes at Oxford Plains are part of the track’s legend. In the 2016 Honey Badger Bar & Grill 150, three of the biggest names in PASS history battled three-wide late in the going to determine the victor.  The all-time winningest driver in PASS, Ben Rowe, prevailed over six-time series champion Johnny Clark and three-time champion D.J. Shaw in one of the most exciting finishes Maine race fans have ever seen.

Last year, Curtis Gerry held off Cassius Clark and Travis Benjamin for the win at Oxford Plains.  Perhaps that could be a precursor for Gerry, who will be competing full-time at Oxford Plains in 2019 in the track’s weekly super late model division.

As if that were not enough for the motorsports-hungry fans of New England, the American-Canadian Tour will begin their season on Sunday at Oxford.  Nearly 40 ACT late models competed in a non-points race at Richmond Raceway in March and another stacked field is expected to fill the already crowded pit area. After seeing nearly 50 cars take the green flag at Richmond, the North East Mini Stock Tour will compete the weekend of action.

The field for Sunday afternoon’s Honey Badger Bar & Grill 150 is full of potential winners, featuring former Oxford 250 winners Rowe, Travis Benjamin, Curtis Gerry and Glen Luce.  Former PASS champions Clark, Shaw, Mike Rowe and Derek Griffith are entered, as well as top series runners like Tracy Gordon, Bryan Kruczek, Reid Lanpher, and Garrett Hall.

Defending Oxford Plains Speedway track champion Gabe Brown is entered, along with fellow Oxford regulars Tim and T.J. Brackett, Scott McDaniel, John Peters and Ryan Robbins.  ACT Late Model champion Nick Sweet is entered, along with fellow Vermonter Evan Hallstrom.  Among the drivers entered from Canada are New Brunswick’s Ashton Tucker and Nova Scotia’s Cole Butcher.

ESCALON, Calif. – Bob Grossi Construction will partner with Nascimento Motorsports to field NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion Eric Holmes in three Madera Speedway pro late model races.

Holmes will compete in the Nut Up Pro Late Model Series in 80-lap events on April 27 and May 25 along with the 150-lap, $10,000-to-win Short Track Shootout on Oct. 5.

Holmes has won the Short Track Shootout three times for Nascimento Motorsports.  He will be teamed up with Eric Nascimento Jr., who is running for Rookie of the Year in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour while also racing regularly in the pro late model division at Madera. Eric Nascimento Jr.’s younger brother Ethan Nascimento also races in the Bandolero division.

The Escalon area-backed program includes additional support from Nut Up Industries, Morrill Industries, Grossi Fabrication, Grossi Electrical, Stump Industries, and Select Harvest of Turlock.

Madera’s Nut Up Pro Late Model Series is a nine race program that averages nearly 30 entries per event. Nick Grossi drove for the team in 2018 and earned a second-place finish in the rookie standings, with a best qualifying effort of third and a best finish of seventh last July.

San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski is doubtful for Friday night's Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche after suffering a gruesome head injury on a controversial play in the third period of the Game 7 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

"I saw him this morning. He's OK. I mean, I would term him day-to-day. I don't think he's going to play [in Game 1]," said San Jose coach Pete DeBoer.

Pavelski had 38 goals and 26 assists in 75 games this season, and two goals and two assists in seven playoff games. In his career, Pavelski has 95 points in 128 playoff games, including an NHL-best 14 goals during the Sharks' run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.

Midway through the third period on Tuesday night, Pavelski's head slammed down on the ice following a cross-check to the chest by Knights center Cody Eakin and a collision with Vegas forward Paul Stastny. Pavelski was motionless for a moment, bleeding profusely through the top of his helmet. Brent Burns and other Sharks players surrounded their captain, calling for the training staff to come out. Pavelski eventually sat up, and gingerly skated to the bench, his teammate Joe Thornton pressing a towel against his head.

Pavelski would not return to the game.

"It could have been worse It could have been something like a fractured skull or something like that, so thankfully it wasn't. He's definitely feeling the effects of it," said DeBoer.

The Sharks coach wouldn't specify if Pavelski had a concussion, but added "I said he was feeling the effects. You can put two and two together on that."

The moment was the turning point in Game 7. Although there wasn't a call made on the ice at the time by referees Eric Furlatt and Dan O'Halloran, they later handed Eakin a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct. The Sharks used the injury as a rallying point, with Thornton bellowing "You guys go out and get three goals right now."

The Sharks would score four times on the five-minute power play and eventually win Game 7 in overtime to eliminate Vegas.

The fallout of the penalty call has been significant. The NHL phoned Vegas general manager George McPhee to apologize for the on-ice officials calling it incorrectly. While the cross-check was to Pavelski's chest, officials told the Golden Knights bench they believed it was to his head. Furlatt and O'Halloran were left off the NHL's list of officials for the second round of the playoffs.

DeBoer had no comment on NHL calling Vegas to apologize but said there were a couple of missed penalties earlier in the series "where I would have appreciated a [phone] call."

As for Pavelski's absence, one of a few injuries for the Sharks heading into their series with the Avalanche, DeBoer preached the "next man up" mantra.

"That's playoff hockey. We've talked about it all year: If you're going on any kind of run, you're going to have to use everybody at some point or another. And we're confident of the guys we have here. Who's out there is going to get it done," he said.

The National Hockey League has apologized to the Vegas Golden Knights for an incorrect major penalty call that opened the door for a four-goal San Jose Sharks rally and eventual victory in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.

"The league did reach out and apologize," general manager George McPhee said Thursday in Las Vegas.

Midway through the third period, with the Golden Knights in control with a 3-0 lead, Sharks center Joe Pavelski won a faceoff from Vegas center Cody Eakin, who then delivered a cross-check to Pavelski's chest. Pavelski stumbled backward into Vegas forward Paul Stastny, who knocked him off his skates when they collided. Pavelski fell straight to the ice on the right side of his head, his helmet slamming hard, and began bleeding profusely. Brent Burns and other Sharks players surrounded their captain, calling for the training staff to come out. Pavelski eventually sat up, and gingerly skated to the bench, his teammate Joe Thornton pressing a towel against his head.

Neither referees Eric Furlatt nor Dan O'Halloran signaled for a penalty as the play went on, but eventually decided that Eakin deserved a major penalty for cross-checking and a game misconduct with 10:47 left in regulation.

A major penalty for cross-checking, by rule, is "at the discretion of the referee based on the severity of the contact" on the play. According to Vegas coach Gerard Gallant, the on-ice officials informed the Knights' bench that they felt Eakin had hit Pavelski in the head with his stick. The replays showed it was a stick to Pavelski's chest.

Thornton fired up the Sharks' bench after the incident, proclaiming that they should score three goals for their fallen teammate. San Jose ended up scoring four goals on the five-minute major penalty power play to take the lead, and then eventually won the game in overtime.

After the controversial call, Gallant said he spoke to Eakin on Thursday, and the Knights center said, "I'm fine. I didn't do anything wrong, and I'm fine."

The Sharks said Thursday that Pavelski is doubtful for Friday's Game 1 against the Avalanche.

McPhee appreciated the NHL's apology, and said the Golden Knights won't obsess over the controversy.

"But with respect to this organization, there will be no pity parties. We're not feeling sorry for ourselves. Stuff happens in games. We're going to take the rearview mirror out and move forward and put a real good team on the ice next year. We're not going to carry around a big suitcase full of yesterdays. That's not going to happen," he said.

McPhee was asked if the organization might support a rule change that could allow major penalty calls to be reviewed by the NHL situation room or by the supervisor of officials on-site at games. "I think that's for the league to determine, if they want to do anything additional. I haven't thought it through enough," he said.

The Knights had their chances to close out the Sharks in Games 5 and 6, and failed to do so. Then they allowed four goals in less than five minutes on a third-period power play, and couldn't find a goal in overtime to take Game 7.

"You worry about that call that's coming. And it came, and it was unfortunate for us," McPhee said. "We played hard, we did our best. It didn't work out."

As we clear the rubble from millions of busted brackets, and survey the surprising entrants in the second round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, we begin to get a sense of the playoff MVP race and the players currently on track for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Please keep in mind that goalies have won playoff MVP five times since 2000, while a defenseman has won it once since 2007 and three times since 2000.

Here are some early MVP candidates in the Stanley Cup playoffs:

10. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

For the first time in his career, Bob is putting it together in the postseason. He posted a .932 save percentage and a 2.01 goals-against average in the Jackets' sweep over the best offensive team since the 1995-96 season. He didn't steal the series, but he was there when they needed him.

9. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche

If the Avs continue on in the postseason, it'll be fascinating to see whether Rantanen or linemate Nathan MacKinnon pull ahead in the Conn Smythe Watch. We'll give the nod right now to Rantanen, who leads in goals (5) and points (11) and scored the winning overtime goal in Game 4 against the Calgary Flames, which was a real knockout blow in the series.

8. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes

There are a lot of surprising things about the Hurricanes in the postseason -- like that whole "eliminating the defending Stanley Cup champions" thing -- but one of them has to be Slavin popping off for nine points in seven games after the defenseman averaged 0.38 points per game in the regular season. He's also averaging 26:59 minutes per game.

7. Matt Duchene, Columbus Blue Jackets

Prior to this postseason, Duchene had last appeared in a postseason game in April 2014. Suffice it to say, he's savoring his return to the playoffs: He has three goals and four assists through four games. That included a point on four of the Jackets' five goals in their stunning Game 2 win at Tampa.

6. Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks

The precocious San Jose forward is best known for (sort of) guaranteeing a win in Game 6 with the Sharks down 3-2 in their series, and then scoring the double-overtime goal to send it back home for a Game 7. He's tied for the postseason lead with six goals, with four of them coming in the Sharks' three-game rally to eliminate the Knights.

5. Jaden Schwartz, St. Louis Blues

The Blues forward has only five points in six playoff games, but his Game 5 winning goal and his Game 6 hat trick -- accounting for all the St. Louis goals in their elimination game win over Winnipeg -- put him on the MVP track from a narrative standpoint.

4. Philipp Grubauer, Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche goalie posted a .939 save percentage and a league-best 1.90 goals-against average in thwarting the Flames, one of the NHL's most potent offensive teams, in five games. He's played the kind of goaltending that elevates his team to a championship level.

3. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins

Seven playoff games with nary a face lick for the Bruins forward. Marchand had a hand in three of the Bruins' victories against the Maple Leafs. In Game 2, he had a goal and an assist and in Game 4 he tallied one goal and two assists. In their critical Game 6 win, he had two goals and an assist. The Bruins separated their dynamic top line in the first round, but Marchand didn't skip a beat.

2. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders

The comeback story of the season continued in the postseason, as Lehner helped the Islanders sweep Sidney Crosby out of the playoffs for the first time in his career. Lehner posted a .956 save percentage to lead the postseason, turning back 130 of 136 shots.

1. Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars

Bishop outplayed Pekka Rinne in the first round to the tune of a league-leading .945 save percentage, a 1.90 goals-against average and a 6.19 goals saved above replacement. His masterpiece was a 47-save performance in the Stars' overtime win in Game 6. The surprising development was the goal support he received against Nashville. But when they needed him, Bishop was there.