We’re down to the final four: Colorado, Carolina, Vegas, Montreal. One of those teams will hoist the Stanley Cup, and before that, the best player from that outfit will hoist the Conn Smythe Trophy, the award for playoff MVP. Now is a good time to check in on the best candidates from each team.In order of Stanley Cup likelihood going into the conference finals, here are the best Conn Smythe contenders from the four finalists.Colorado AvalancheStanley Cup chances: 41 percentNathan MacKinnonNet Rating: 3.8We’ve seen MacKinnon outright dominate series to explosive degrees only matched by Connor McDavid. His work through the first two rounds isn’t that; it’s business as usual. And business is booming for MacKinnon.The Avalanche superstar has seven goals and 13 points in nine games so far, as well as a dominant 61 percent xG rate, and has outscored opponents 8-3 at five-on-five. Extrapolate that to an 82-game pace, and it’s not far off from his usual regular-season dominance. Maybe that’s boring to some, but when it comes to postseason action, matching regular-season output pound-for-pound is a good thing — and given the nature of the beast, a majority of the league just doesn’t do that.MacKinnon remains Colorado’s engine; the Avalanche go as far as he takes them. Right now, that’s to a 9-1 record as the favorite to go the distance. As excellent as usual is MVP-worthy for MacKinnon.Devon ToewsNet Rating: 3.8Move over Cale Makar, it’s your partner’s turn to shine.Despite the lower assist total (just one!) for Makar, he’s been dominant enough at five-on-five to get full marks for total value. It’s just that Toews has been a little better across the board. He’s played more (25.5 minutes to 25), he’s scored more (eight points to five) and he’s outchanced opponents more (63.4 percent to 62 percent). All of that gives him a 0.4 goal edge in Net Rating so far.Whether that continues is a different story, but for now, Toews has been Colorado’s best defenseman.Honorable mention: Cale MakarCarolina HurricanesStanley Cup chances: 32 percentFrederik AndersenGSAx: 13.0All season, it was easy to envision goaltending as Carolina’s Achilles’ heel. The clock struck midnight on Brandon Bussi, Pyotr Kochetkov was out all season and Andersen was mid when available. All of that changed through the first two rounds; no goalie saved more goals above expected than Andersen’s 13, built off a stunning .950 save percentage. He’s without question the biggest reason the Hurricanes started the playoffs 8-0.However, Montreal’s sharpshooting is a different challenge than that of both Ottawa and Philadelphia, two teams with a history of settling for quantity over quality. Andersen has a chance to build an already strong case; he just has to prove himself against the most dangerous offensive team in Carolina’s path through the East.