The second round of the NHL playoffs is nearly one week old, and through 11 games the New York Rangers are the only club without a win.

It's a sign that things are tight in the second round and every team has gotten strong contributions from somewhere. However, it's not always the big goal or even the strong performances that impact a series most.

Here are five players making their marks on the second round:

Braden Holtby

Holtby's rollercoaster three games against the Pittsburgh Penguins have made this Eastern Conference matchup a compelling one.

Holtby had a forgettable Game 1, giving up three goals on 21 shots - including two to Sidney Crosby in less than a minute - and followed that up with an even worse Game 2 that saw him replaced to start the third period.

However, he rebounded in a big way Monday, going nearly perfect until a late Penguins surge. In the end, he helped the Capitals earn an overtime win and get back into the series.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Even if Pageau doesn't do another thing the rest of the postseason, he can still be credited with a game for the ages.

The Ottawa Senators forward scored four goals Saturday, including the double-overtime winner in a wild 6-5 comeback. Pageau scored two goals in the final 3:19 to send the game to overtime where he finished it off just over 23 minutes later.

A Rangers win would've halved the series and given New York home-ice advantage, but now the pressure is on the Metropolitan club to respond at Madison Square Garden. All thanks to a kid they call the "Honey badger."

Jakob Silfverberg

Silfverberg might be public enemy No. 1 in Edmonton.

The Anaheim Ducks forward has scored in each of the first three games and was monumental in the Ducks' 6-3 win Sunday.

Related: Silfverberg proving to be playoff hero with Ducks

Silfverberg posted two goals and an assist to give him six tallies and eight points in seven playoff games. He's gaining a knack for elevating his play in the postseason and the Ducks are all the better for it.

The Ducks are still in a 2-1 hole, but things could quickly even up if Silfverberg keeps doing his thing.

Ryan Ellis

As everyone predicted, the Nashville Predators are cruising along in the second round thanks to their leading scorer, Ellis.

Wait, what?

Yes, the Predators defender paces the club with eight points in seven games and has not gone pointless since Game 1 of Round 1. He's posted two goals and four points in the first three games against the St. Louis Blues and helped his team jump out to a 2-1 series lead.

The Predators are getting incredible contributions from their defense this postseason and Ellis is leading the pack.

Sidney Crosby

Crosby was riding a six-game point streak before being knocked out of Monday's contest by Matt Niskanen just 2:11 in.

He netted two goals in 52 seconds in Game 1 to help the Penguins cruise to a 3-2 victory and followed that up with two helpers in Game 2.

However, his biggest impact was likely felt in his absence in Game 3, as the Penguins chased the game for nearly 52 minutes before an epic comeback. In the end, though, the Capitals prevailed, but we could be talking about a 3-0 series deficit had Crosby been given the opportunity to extend his point streak.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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The NHL has so much talent in the game today, making it difficult to select just three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the "player judged most valuable to his team."

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Edmonton's Connor McDavid, and Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky were nominated for the honor this year, and while all of them had spectacular seasons, the following three players were well deserving of a finalist nod, too:

Brent Burns, D, Sharks

Burns' season was absolutely insane when you really think about.

He led the league in shots on goal with 320, becoming the first defenseman to do so since Ray Bourque in the lockout-shortened season of 1994-95.

He also finished first among NHL defenseman with 76 points - which led the Sharks - and his 29 goals tied Joe Pavelski for the club lead. He was invaluable to his team.

Burns did lead the league in giveaways, but that's what comes with playing such a high-risk game. He still finished plus-19 with an expected plus/minus of plus-9.6.

Burns also finished with a league-best 15.3 point shares. To put that into perspective, here are the top 10 point share leaders, per Hockey Reference:

Perhaps most important, though, is that Burns carried a Sharks team amid Joe Thornton's dramatic decline and a less drastic one from Pavelski.

The Sharks finished 19th in goals after ranking fourth a year ago, but Burns still managed to increase his own point total. And the club finished with more points in the standings this year than the one that went to the Cup Final last spring, largely because Burns put it on his back.

Erik Karlsson, D, Senators

Karlsson's point total fell from a team-high 82 last season to a still-team-high 71 this year, but his offensive decline was for the betterment of the Senators.

Guy Boucher was hired as the club's head coach this past offseason, and he implements a very defensive style of play by trapping up the neutral zone in the 1-3-1 setup.

Karlsson bought in immediately.

His ice time dipped over two minutes per game in order to conserve some energy for later in the year (he still averaged 26:50), but he improved his defensive play.

Karlsson finished with a plus-10 rating and an expected plus/minus of plus-7.0. He set a career high with 5.7 defensive point shares and finished second in the entire league with 201 blocked shots.

Karlsson also carried the Senators to the postseason, as Ottawa finished second in the Atlantic Division despite playing without its starting goaltender for almost half the campaign.

Nikita Kucherov, RW, Lightning

There are two main reasons why Kucherov wasn't a Hart Trophy finalist:

1) He's a winger.
2) His team missed the playoffs.

He finished tied for second in the NHL with 40 goals and tied for fifth in points with 85. The career year took place despite the Lightning missing Steven Stamkos for practically the entire season, while two players they were counting on to pick up the slack - Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat - had down seasons.

Furthermore, Tampa traded its starting goaltender, Ben Bishop, and its primary penalty-killing and shutdown center, Brian Boyle, at the deadline in exchange for draft picks, but Kucherov still got the Lightning - who had been largely written off - within one point of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 19 goals and 36 points over the final 23 games.

He finished the season fourth in offensive point shares and third in goals created per game.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen will not face a hearing for a hit on Sidney Crosby that knocked the Pittsburgh Penguins captain out of Game 3, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.

Niskanen received a five-minute major and a game misconduct at the time of the incident, which occurred at 5:24 of the first period.

After the game, Niskanen insisted the cross-check was not intentional, while Pittsburgh's Chris Kunitz declared it to be deliberate.

Crosby was unable to return to Game 3, which the Penguins lost in overtime.

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Nolan Patrick wants to make it known he's ready for the next level.

The potential first overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft recently missed the Western Hockey League playoffs with a lower-body injury, but maintains he'll be ready to hit the ground running next season.

"I'm 100 percent healthy," Patrick told Mike Morreale of NHL.com. "I'm confident I can play a full season without getting injured; I'm confident in my abilities."

As to his feelings on possibly being selected by the New Jersey Devils with the first pick or falling to the Philadelphia Flyers at No. 2, Patrick said, "Honestly, I'd be honored to go anywhere."

Patrick also missed several games - along with the world juniors - this past season due to an upper-body injury, but still recorded 20 goals and 26 assists in 33 appearances with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

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Former NHL player, coach, and general manager Mike Milbury has found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons over the years, be it for his questionable decisions while running the New York Islanders or for attacking a fan with a shoe as a member of the Boston Bruins.

Now an NBC analyst, Milbury attracted controversy again after calling Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban a clown for daring to do a little dance during warmups prior to Friday's Game 2 in St. Louis.

"When I see this I start to think maybe (Predators coach) Peter Laviolette ought to give him a rap on the head and say, 'Hey, P.K., we've got a game tonight, focus in. You don't need to be a clown out there,'" Milbury said, according to Joe Rexrode of The Tennessean. "And he will. He's been a clown in the past, and we've seen him act like a clown. When he's serious and focused, he's one hell of a player."

Milbury regrets using "rap on the head" and "clown," he told Rexrode on Monday, adding that he only meant to start a discussion about whether Subban was a distraction to his Predators teammates.

"This shouldn't be about 'Mike Milbury doesn't like P.K. Subban,'" he said. "This was just a question of, does behavior like this impact the rest of the team in a circumstance where it's pretty serious for everybody but you can get away with that attitude.

"I mean, God bless him. But the question, does it impact anybody else as a coach, does it distract, I think was legitimate. And that's what it was meant to be. It's turned into something far different, and that was not my intention."

Milbury admitted the traditional hockey establishment is rather conservative, and agreed with Rexrode's assertion that the sport needs more personality and character, but reiterated his concern.

"The game is supposed to be fun and I'm glad that P.K. Subban is part of the game. I'm glad he’s a personality," Milbury said. "I think it's wonderful that he has that kind of approach. At the risk of repeating myself, the only question was, does that distracting kind of behavior impact anyone else?"

Subban has recorded one goal and five assists in seven playoff games for the Predators, while Nashville has posted a record of 6-1 so far this postseason.

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It took a little longer than some expected, but getting Brad Treliving's signature on a new contract is an overwhelmingly positive outcome for the Calgary Flames.

There was some mild uncertainty about whether the general manager - whose contract was due to expire at season's end - would stay with the organization, but that was put to rest Monday when the club revealed Treliving agreed to a multi-year extension.

The GM's fingerprints are all over the Flames' roster, and he deserves credit for both assembling and securing the club's core since being hired by Calgary in the spring of 2014.

He's shown little reluctance to make blockbuster trades, acquiring Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins for a few picks in 2015, and landing goaltender Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues for a second-rounder at last year's draft.

The signing of backup netminder Chad Johnson last July 1 didn't make waves at the time, but it made Treliving look like a genius when Elliott struggled, allowing Johnson to step in and play well.

Then there's the slew of extensions Treliving has negotiated, including deals for Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Hamilton, Mark Giordano, Mikael Backlund, and T.J. Brodie.

This work has been well documented, but an unheralded aspect of Treliving's tenure has been his ability to turn expendable players into future assets.

Treliving draft picks Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett are already integral parts of Calgary's roster, but the GM has also stocked the organization with the likes of defensemen Oliver Kylington and Rasmus Anderssen, goaltending prospect Tyler Parsons, and centers Dillon Dube and Matthew Phillips.

Both Elliott and Johnson are pending unrestricted free agents, and Calgary could have some wiggle room to address the crease if they let Dennis Wideman and Deryk Engelland walk in free agency.

Figuring out what to do in goal will be Treliving's primary concern this summer, but he'll have options, namely bringing back one or both of his incumbent goaltenders, or looking for a short-term fix by acquiring an upgrade over Elliott who can provide stability until prospects Jon Gillies and Parsons are ready.

Despite that uncertainty, the future looks bright for the Flames, with the core locked up and some potential financial flexibility despite myriad long-term contracts on the books.

Calgary has made the playoffs twice in three years under Treliving, and while the club hasn't gone far, steady improvement isn't out of the question next season and beyond considering all of the pieces he's put in place and all of the talent coming down the pipe.

It wasn't a question of whether Treliving deserved a contract extension, but it's about time he got one. It's a case of better late than never for the Flames, who should be relieved knowing their versatile GM won't be plying his trade elsewhere.

He has the franchise well positioned both now and for years to come.

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Matt Niskanen says he didn't mean to catch Sidney Crosby the way he did.

"Absolutely not. It wasn’t intentional," the Washington Capitals defenseman told reporters postgame Monday, via Sportsnet. "I’ve seen the replay. In super slo-mo, it looks really bad. I caught him high."

Niskanen was tossed early in Game 3 of the Capitals' second-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins for cross-checking Crosby after the Penguins star was knocked off balance by Alex Ovechkin.

"He's coming across trying to score, (and) as he's doing that he's lower and lower, and when it's happening that fast, my stick and his head collided," Niskanen said.

"I wasn't extending (or) trying to hit him in the head. It happened quickly. I wasn't even trying to cross-check him with a serious amount of force."

The Washington blueliner expressed concern over Crosby's condition.

"I hope he's okay," Niskanen said, according to Sportsnet's Shawn McKenzie. "I certainly didn't mean to injure him. It's an unfortunate play that happened really quick."

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Chris Kunitz was less than impressed.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward called out Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen after his hard cross-check ended the night early for Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

"It's obviously gut-wrenching," Kunitz told Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "A guy that is the best player in the world playing in his prime, just dominating game, it's one of those things that you look at it once and you see what actually happened and I think the next thing is watching how deliberate it was when the guy cross-checks him in the face."

Crosby left the game at the 5:24 mark of the first period. Niskanen was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct on the play.

Kunitz added, "I thought all of that was kind of out of this league, but I guess not."

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan wasn't nearly as adamant, at least publicly, as the veteran forward. Asked about the hit, Sullivan told Devin Heroux of CBC News, "I'd rather not share my opinion," adding, "It really doesn't matter what either coach's opinion is on it."

The Capitals took Game 3 with a 3-2 overtime victory and will have a chance to even the series Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

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