PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off a dramatic 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Monday in Game 1, and no doubt the intensity will increase as the Stanley Cup finals progress.
Both teams reached this point because of the outstanding efforts from each and every player on the roster. We categorized each player into one of three groups: Big-timers (players expected to perform well and are), playoff surprises (players who have raised their games) and essential pluggers (players who don't get a lot of attention but are key to their team's success).