USA TODAY International Edition
CROSBY BUILDS STRONG CASE FOR CONN SMYTHE
The more that Nashville Predators fans hate Sidney Crosby, the closer he seems to inch toward winning his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy.
The Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the playoffs, seems too close to call. However, if the Pittsburgh Penguins, leading 3- 2 in the best- of- seven Stanley Cup Final, win Sunday night, Crosby would be one of the favorites with Evgeni Malkin and rookie Jake Guentzel. The case for Crosby ( eight goals, 27 points in 23 games) is strong because he has dialed up his performance level as the games have become more important.
He has seven points in the five games of this Stanley Cup Final. In his last 10 playoff games, he has posted four goals and nine assists. Despite the fact that Pittsburgh was outscored 9- 2 in Games 3 and 4 in Nashville, Crosby hasn’t had a minus game since May 17 in the Eastern Conference finals.
“When you see that jump and energy, it drives our team,” Penguins winger Chris Kunitz said.
Crosby’s passion has been particularly molten of late, evidenced by his confrontation with the Predators’ P. K. Subban behind the net that has Nashville fans believing Crosby got away with one after pushing Subban’s head to the ice multiple times. Both players received penalties when Crosby could have, or should have, earned an extra penalty for roughing.
Crosby said he was reacting to having his ankle held. He said he was trying to free himself. Whatever the case, Crosby has been vilified in Nashville.
If Crosby wins the Conn Smythe, he would join his boss and former landlord Mario Lemieux ( 1991 and 1992) and Bernie Parent ( 1974 and 1975) as backto- back Smythe winners.
More heroics might be required to win it because Guentzel ( 13 goals, eight assists, 21 points) has tied Dino Ciccarelli’s 36- yearold record for points by a rookie in a playoff year. The only blip on Guentzel’s postseason résumé is that he went without a goal in the conference final against the Ottawa Senators and was - 6.
Malkin has the same scoring rate ( 1.17 points per game) as Crosby but has scored 10 goals.
A panel of voters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association will decide the award, and the question will be how they factor Crosby’s leadership.
If the Penguins win this championship, his mad dash to the net 36 seconds into Game 5 might be considered the turning point of the series. It was as if Crosby sent a message to both teams that he wasn’t going to be denied. The Penguins scored on the ensuing power play to set the tone.
If the Penguins don’t win Game 6, it’s even more wide open. A member of the losing team has won the award, but it doesn’t seem likely that would happen this season.
If the Predators come back, goalie Pekka Rinne is probably the favorite because Nashville wouldn’t be this far without his strong play. Filip Forsberg is in the mix. Nashville fans wouldn’t mind if Subban won it, either.
Given how close this series has been, it seems fitting that the Conn Smythe race might go down to the final shifts.