Western Conference Finals One To Watch: Sammy Pahlsson

He may (finally) be a Selke Trophy nominee this season, but the one thing Anaheim Ducks forward Samuel Pahlsson is not is a household name.

But the one truly unbelievable thing about Pahlsson so far these playoffs is that, with him on the ice, the Ducks have gone more than 46 minutes without surrendering a power-play goal.

Combine that with the fact he's tied for second on the team in scoring with seven points in 10 games and, well, we have one of your most unlikely Conn Smythe candidates of all-time right here in these conference finals.

Pahlsson is going to be tasked with shutting down a Red Wings power play led by some of the league's deadliest, dangliest snipers in Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, who, along with defenceman Nick Lidstrom, have been Detroit's three top scorers this season - both in the regular and postseason.

Factoring in that defenceman Mathieu Schneider bowed out of the playoffs with a broken wrist in the series against San Jose, if Anaheim can shutdown the Wings' top line (by way of Pahlsson's super-human checking), this series is going the Ducks' way - and in six games or less. Offence is going to be at a premium, and the ability to generate or stifle goal scoring is really what this match-up is all about.

Other than the goaltenders, Pahlsson and his linemates have the biggest potential for transforming this series from a nail-biter into no contest, something that's really going to be evident when special teams come into play.