Conn-athan Marchessault. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
The Golden Knights earned the franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup championship, defeating the Panthers in five games to win the 2023 final. At the conclusion of the series, Jonathan Marchessault was named the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the MVP of the playoffs.
The Vegas winger, who was a part of the original Golden Knights team that went to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season, was instrumental for the offense. He started out cold, but Marchessault came alive as the postseason went on.
Marchessault's line with Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev was the best forward group in the series against Florida and led the way for a majority of the playoffs for Vegas. It was no surprise to see the forward receive the Conn Smythe.
MORE: Who is Conn Smythe? Explaining the man behind the playoff MVP trophy
The Sporting News dives into the numbers behind Marchessault's sensational postseason and how it earned him the 2023 Conn Smythe.
Jonathan Marchessault's Conn Smythe, by the numbers
25
Marchessault finished the 2023 playoffs second out of all skaters in points with 25.
He recorded a point in every game except for one in the final two rounds for Vegas. Against Florida, Marchessault totaled eight in the series.
13
It was not a strong start to the playoffs for Marchessault in the goal department. The Vegas winger failed to find the back of the net in the first seven games, but he finally broke through in Game 3 of the second round against the Oilers.
Marchessault recorded 13 goals over his final 15 games, including four in the series against the Panthers. He ended the playoffs tied with Oilers star Leon Draisaitl for the lead in goals among all playoff skaters.
3
The goals may not have been as dramatic as overtime winners or buzzer beaters, but Marchessault did end up with three game-winning goals in the 2023 playoffs, tying him for second among all skaters.
In Game 3 against Edmonton in the second round, his second tally in a two-goal performance wound up being the game-winner in the 5-1 win for Vegas. In Game 6 of that series, Marchessault recorded a natural hat trick in the second period and once again, his second goal ended up being the game-winner, helping the Golden Knights eliminate the Oilers with a 5-2 win.
Finally, in Game 3 against the Stars, Marchessault opened the scoring for Vegas, who went on to shut out Dallas 4-0.
19
While four of Marchessault's eight points against the Panthers came on the power play, most of the damage was done at even strength.
No one had more points at even strength than Marchessault did in these playoffs, with 19 of his 24 points coming that way.
80
If you want to score, you have to shoot.
No one had more shots on goal than Marchessault in these playoffs, as the Golden Knights winger put 80 shot attempts on target. He averaged 3.5 shots on goal per game during Vegas' run.
16.3
Shooting is half the battle. Scoring is the other half.
Marchessault finished the postseason with a shooting percentage of 16.3%, higher than his 12% in the regular season and much better than his career mark of 10.9%.
56.87
The analytics are in Marchessault's favor as well. Out of the regulars in the Vegas lineup, no one recorded a higher expected goals for percentage than Marchessault, who finished at 56.87%.
The counting stats told the story, but the advanced numbers prove it. Marchessault was on a whole different level this postseason.