5 players still looking for their 1st goal of the playoffs

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are where names are made.

On the big stage, with the hockey world watching - that's when players want to come though for their teams.

But as the second round continues, a few notable names have yet to hit the back of the net.

Here are five that stand out.

Not striking Oil

The Oilers are winning, but so far, they're doing it without any goals off the sticks of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle.

While Nugent-Hopkins has been lauded by head coach Todd McLellan as an effective two-way player, Eberle - who's perceived primarily as an offensive weapon - was recently called out for not doing enough to help the team win.

Out of all the players remaining in the postseason yet to record a goal, Nugent-Hopkins' 24 shots lead the way. In fact, he ranks first on the Oilers in this category. Eberle, however, is well behind with 17 in nine games, which he admits is cause for concern.

"I want to score, put the puck in the net," he said, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet. "The thing that sucks is, the last two games I haven't had too many chances, and that's when you start to worry. ...

"I'm an offensive guy, and my own worst critic. You can be great defensively, do good board work and all that. But I'm a goal-scorer. I've got to put the puck in the net."

Eberle scored 20 goals during the regular season, and Nugent-Hopkins chipped in with 18. It's time to dig deep and strike while there's still a chance to do so.

Alex Pietrangel-0

Coming off a regular season in which he scored a career-high 14 goals, St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has yet to hit the back of the net, despite 23 shots on goal through nine games.

Six of those strikes came on the power play, which is not clicking for the Blues at the moment. St. Louis has recorded two goals on 24 opportunities, ranking seventh among the remaining eight teams with a success rate of 8.3 percent. That can't all be pinned on Pietrangelo, but his lack of production isn't helping the cause.

The weird thing is that fellow Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson has scored three playoff goals, matching his regular-season total.

If the captain can't start scoring from the back end, the Blues' season could be done as soon as the end of Game 5.

No red lights for these Blueshirts

The New York Rangers received high marks when college standouts Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey decided to take their acts to Broadway as free agents. But in six games against the Montreal Canadiens and three against the Ottawa Senators, the Blueshirts have yet to benefit on the scoresheet from either player.

Hayes has registered 16 shots without hitting the back of the net, while Vesey's 12 shots have proven equally as ineffective.

Hayes (17 goals) and Vesey (16 goals) ranked sixth and seventh among Rangers scorers during the regular season, and provided a healthy measure of depth that's necessary to succeed in the playoffs.

One or both needs to get it going in order to help erase the Senators' 2-1 series lead.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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