Karlsson leads pack for playoff MVP

Defender sparks surprising Senators; Getzlaf lifts Ducks

With the NHL playoffs just past the midway point, it’s not close to being clear which teams will reach the Stanley Cup Final. But players are emerging as top candidates to win the Conn Smythe as MVP of the playoffs.

Here is the leaderboard as we work our way through the con-

ference finals: 1. Defenseman Erik Karls

son, Ottawa Senators: His dazzling puck- moving ability is the primary reason the Senators have surprised the league by advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.

He is 10th among scoring leaders with 13 points in 13 games. But his contributions go well beyond his offense.

He is averaging more than 29 minutes per game and has become a better defensive player under coach Guy Boucher’s command. At five- on- five, he has been on the ice for 16 goals for and eight goals against, according to Naturalstattrick.com. ( The Senators have scored 25 times and given up 26 goals at five- onfive altogether.) Karlsson also has the highest Corsi ( 56.2%)

among all full- time defensemen still in the playoffs. He is second on the Senators with 27 blocked shots. 2. Center Ryan Getzlaf, An

aheim Ducks: His formidable presence and leadership has helped the Ducks come from behind six times to win games in this postseason, including erasing a two- goal deficit Sunday to beat the Predators 5- 3 in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

He boasts 18 points, seven multipoint games and a plus- minus of + 10. At 32, he’s having the best all- around playoff run of his career.

Getzlaf is leading the Ducks in the grand tradition of Steve Yzerman or Mark Messier. 3. Goalie Marc- Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins: Pressed into service by Matt Murray’s injury before Game 1, Fleury has played at a consistently high level throughout the postseason. He has been the Penguins’ best player.

His .928 save percentage is higher than the .908 he posted when he was in net for the Penguins’ 2009 Stanley Cup championship run. 4. Goalie Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators: Despite coming off his worst game of the postseason, Rinne owns the most impressive numbers among the playoff goalies.

At 34, Rinne has performed magnificently for the Predators. He boasts a 1.62 goals- against average and a .942 save percentage. His save percentage is .948 in five- on- five situations. 5. Winger Bobby Ryan, Ot-

tawa Senators: With almost half of the playoffs still left, there’s time for others to improve their MVP chances. Ryan has caught everyone’s attention with three game- winning goals, including two overtime winners. He has made memorable offensive plays in registering 11 points in 13 games.

Other less- heralded players still in the hunt include Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis, Ottawa two- way forward Jean- Gabriel Pageau and Pittsburgh goal- scoring leader Jake Guentzel.

And Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are always in striking distance.