Ovechkin again named a Hart Trophy finalist
It is a dream matchup for the NHL.
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A league that has to spend much of its time fighting to gain interest from the casual sports fan has the perfect vehicle to do so on Saturday when Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals begin an Eastern Conference semifinal series with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
They are the two premier players in the NHL and heavily marketed around the world. For four years, the argument has raged over who is better. Now fans get the chance to see them play against each other in a postseason setting, where reputations are forged. It is a series that could have crossover appeal to a national audience and draw immense media coverage.
“Welcome to the circus,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau joked after his team’s 2-1 win over the New York Rangers in Game 7 of their quarterfinal series Tuesday.
Of course, it is possible neither Crosby nor Ovechkin will be the best player on the ice. Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin — Ovechkin’s Russian countryman who was picked one spot behind him in the 2004 draft — was named a finalist Wednesday for the Hart Trophy, the NHL’s MVP award. Ovechkin — last year’s winner — and Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk, another Russian, were the other finalists.
“It means a lot to be up for this award,” said Ovechkin in a statement. “I always want to be the best, so this is a great honor. It’s special, too, with three Russians nominated. It is a great thing for our country and our sport.”
Ovechkin is trying to become the first player to win back-to-back MVP awards since 1997. He led the NHL again with 56 goals this season — 10 more than the next closest player — and also had 54 assists, matching a career high.
There is plenty of playoff history between the two teams — almost all of it bad for Washington. The Penguins have won six of the seven playoff series, including twice overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the Caps (1992 and 1995) and once rallying from 2-0 down (1996). Having just come back from 3-1 themselves against the Rangers, Washington knows how rare that is. Only 21 NHL teams have done it in league history.
