from Mike Johnston of Sportsnet,

In every NHL postseason, there are always players that elevate their game to the next level. Often these players aren’t the stars or big-name players on their respective squads.

Take last year’s Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings for example. Yes, their top forward Anze Kopitar, captain Dustin Brown and star blue-liner Drew Doughty had great numbers, but that was expected.

However, players like Dwight King, Trevor Lewis and Matt Greene stepped up their play and provided valuable depth, without which the Kings might not have been crowned champs.

So with that, here’s one skater from each Eastern Conference playoff team that could be one of these dark-horse guys that helps lead their team past the first round and deep into the postseason, en route to possibly hoisting Lord Stanley.

continued and the here is the Western Conference dark-horse guys...