As we get ready for the start of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begins Wednesday, here is a look at the first round and some of the interesting stats it produced.
Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel of the Pittsburgh Penguins were among the most effective forwards; Jake Gardiner of the Toronto Maple Leafs handled some of the toughest minutes among defensemen; the Minnesota Wild dominated the St. Louis Blues in shots; goalies Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers played their best hockey of the season; and forward Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs was among the handful of first-year players who made his presence felt.
Here are five interesting statistics from the first round:
Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel of Penguins among first-round standouts
Jake Gardiner of Maple Leafs, Pekka Rinne of Predators, Henrik Lundqvist of Rangers also excelled
![Malkin_HighFive_Kessel](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/t_ratio16_9-size20/f_auto/prd/o9q4l9ifqpedrf4ojpkp.jpg)
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