The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has come to an end and it is now time to keep stock of which players lifted their teams in the first round and are the early Conn Smythe contenders for playoff MVP. Here are the top contenders in no particular order.

Tuukka Rask - Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins were terrific in their first round series against the Detroit Red Wings and managed to suffocate the opposition with depth on offense, a terrific defense and a magnificent goaltender. Tuukka Rask led this team to the final last year and seems to have upped his level of play in 2013-14. Through the first five postseason games, Rask stopped an astonishing 96.1 percent of the shots he faced; he faced 152 shots in five games and had to stop 30 or more shots in three of the five matches. No other remaining goaltender had a save percentage above .935 in the first round of the playoffs.

Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby was relatively quiet in the first round series against Columbus while Malkin showed up in the decisive game six to score a hat trick; prior to the final game, neither player had scored a single goal. But Malkin showed up when his team needed him to. This is the kind of game that pumps up the best players and the three-goal tirade may have been the wakening of a giant. If Malkin can build on this, he could easily carry the Penguins on his own, with or without Crosby putting up a plethora of points. His terrific possession numbers are nothing to ignore either.

Henrik Lundqvist - NY Rangers

He was not always stellar against the Philadelphia Flyers, but the NY Rangers' netminder got the job done in the first round relatively well. He stopped 91.9 percent of the shots he faced and only allowed more than two goals in a game just twice in the entire series. His best game was arguably in Game 7 when he stopped 26 of 27 shots in a high-pressure environment and situation. If Lundqvist can continue this kind of play in the ensuing series, there is no reason why the Rangers cannot make a deep run. Their offense was not particularly dominant against Philadelphia and it was clear that Lundqvist needed to be the difference maker. He was.

P.K. Subban - Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal defender had a great first round series for Montreal against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He did not score a goal but led the Canadiens in scoring with five assists. His possession numbers were among the best in the entire team and he was dominant force in helping shutting down Tampa Bay's top players. In a series where goalie Carey Price was far from great, the team relied on its top defender to lead the way and he did just that.

Anze Kopitar - LA Kings

Jonathan Quick turned the series around in the final four games when he played up to the level of expectations. But Anze Kopitar gave the Kings the offense it so desperately needs to make a deep run. He put up 10 points in the first round (he is tied for the league lead) and scored four goals including a game winner in the final match. Kopitar actually registered a point in every single game of the series, but saved his goals for the final three games when his team needed them most.

Jonathan Toews - Chicago Blackhawks

The Captain won the Conn Smythe trophy back in 2010 during Chicago's first Cup run. This year he had seven points in the first round to lead the team. He also scored three goals; every single one of them wound up being a game winner. The biggest game winner of all was in Game 5 when he managed a breakaway in overtime in St. Louis and gave his team complete control of the series. If he continues scoring those big goals, Chicago not only wins the Stanley Cup, but he also picks up his second Conn Smythe trophy.

Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim Ducks

There are so many options here for Anaheim including Corey Perry, Francois Beauchemin and even Nick Bonino. But when your Captain gets hit in the face with the puck, bounces back and leads the team to victory and also leads it in scoring, it is impossible to overlook him as the Conn Smythe favorite. That is exactly what Getzlaf is. He had seven points in the first round, including three goals.

Zach Parise - Minnesota Wild

Another team that has a plethora of worthy players including Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Jared Spurgeon, Kyle Brodziak, Ryan Suter and Darcy Kuemper. But Parise was dynamic for the team in the first round and put up 10 points, including a game-winner in the all-important Game 6; he actually scored four points in that game to level the series and give the Wild the confidence it needed to win the series. Parise was one of the major reasons that the NJ Devils made it to the finals in 2012 and he will need to continue his current run of play to help Minnesota achieve that feat.