Brophy on NHL: Conn Smythe candidates
Posted May 30, 2011 11:05 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
You could make the case the best player in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs isn’t even in the running for the Conn Smythe Trophy.
That would be Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings who bowed out in the second round.
Still, there are plenty of choices for the playoff MVP award. Here are sportsnet.ca’s top five candidates for the Conn Smythe:
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks The 26-year-old centre has become one of the most complete players in the game. Early in the playoffs when the Sedin brothers struggled to find their game, it was Kesler who led the Canucks on offence. He has maintained a high level of play throughout the three rounds and will no doubt play a prominent role in Vancouver’s attempt to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
David Krejci, Boston Bruins After managing just 13 goals in 75 regular season games, the 25-year-old Czech centre has been a scoring machine in the playoffs. His 10 goals in three rounds is tied for the league lead with Martin St. Louis of the recently departed Tampa Bay Lightning. Krejci scored three goals in a losing effort in Game 6 against the Lightning and then set up the game-winning goal by Nathan Horton in Game 7.
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks The leading scorer in the playoffs (21 points in 18 games), played a huge role in the Western Conference final. The pass-first pivot had his share of problems against Chicago’s shutdown pair of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook and then against Nashville’s Shea Weber and Ryan Suter and may face his toughest test against Boston’s Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg in the Cup final.
Kevin Bieksa, Vancouver Canucks The Grimsby, Ont., native has been Mr. Everything for the Canucks in the post-season. After scoring six goals in 66 regular season games, the rugged blueliner has five in 18 playoff games including four in his last five games. Bieksa also leads the Canucks with a plus-10 rating and his 37 penalty minutes is a good indicator he’s playing his usual hard-nosed game. For a guy headed to unrestricted free agency, Bieksa couldn’t have picked a better time to rise to the occasion.
Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins When the chips were down, the 37-year-old Thomas was a wall of strength for the Bruins, shutting out Tampa Bay twice in the Eastern Conference championship. Tied for the lead in wins (12) and shutouts (2) with Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo (Buffalo’s Ryan Miller also had two shutouts), Thomas ranks fourth in goals-against average (2.29) and second in save percentage (.929).
