Ranking the best defensemen from Round 1 of the North Division playoffs

With the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the books, theScore ranks the North Division's top five players of the postseason so far in all three positional groups. Players on eliminated teams are eligible for this list, as these rankings are explicitly based on Round 1 performances.

Forwards | Defensemen | Goalies

5. Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets

Pionk played a crucial role in slowing down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. His xGF% was the best among Jets blue-liners, as was his 2.28 expected goals against per 60 minutes. The numbers ultimately indicate he was Winnipeg's best shutdown defender.

4. Joel Edmundson, Canadiens

The Habs received just two points from their defense and only one from the top four. However, Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry, and Edmundson all played integral roles in shutting down Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Edmundson gets the nod here as the only defenseman of those four with a goal share and expected goal share 50% or higher. He was also deployed in a heavy defensive role, starting less than 30% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

3. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers

Nurse was certainly not the reason the Oilers were swept in four games. In fact, without him, it would've been even worse for Edmonton. The Oilers outscored the Jets 4-2 and out-chanced them 74-48 with Nurse on the ice at five-on-five. He was also a workhorse, playing a ridiculous 62:07 in Edmonton's triple-OT loss in Game 4.

2. Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs

Rielly didn't have his best regular season, but he was certainly one of the handful of Maple Leafs to show up in their series against the Habs. He limited his mistakes in his own end and drove play offensively, as his xGF% was the second-best among qualified blue-liners in Round 1, trailing only Charlie McAvoy. Toronto outscored Montreal 4-2 with Rielly on the ice at five-on-five.

1. Josh Morrissey, Jets

Morrissey's underlying numbers aren't pretty, but he logged big minutes, played a key role in slowing down McDavid and Draisaitl, and produced offensively. You can't ask for much more than that.

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)