By David Bailey
DETROIT (Reuters) - Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin gave the best possible response to those who questioned his whereabouts during last year's Stanley Cup finals by becoming the first Russian to win the Conn Smythe trophy on Friday.
Largely silenced during the defeat to the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, Malkin's contribution to the Penguins' gaining their revenge and a third NHL championship on Friday was recognized when he was named most valuable player in the playoffs.
The powerful 22-year-old led the playoffs in scoring with 36 points on 14 goals and 22 assists to deny the Red Wings their fifth Stanley Cup since 1997. He also led all scorers in the final series with two goals and six assists.
He also became just the second Penguin to win playoff MVP honors after team owner Mario Lemieux took back-to-back playoff MVP honors in 1991 and 1992 when Pittsburgh won their other two championships.
Malkin, captain Sidney Crosby and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, have faced high expectations as the young core of the Penguins team.
"There's a lot of scrutiny about these guys and a lot of question marks ...," Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma said. "Hopefully this erases some of those questions for a lot of people, because these kids earned it."
Malkin assisted on the first of Maxime Talbot's two goals in the Penguin's series clinching 2-1 victory, forcing a key turnover behind the Red Wings net early in the second period.
He also logged nearly 20 minutes in the game, shouldering much of the load after Crosby was stung by a hard check early in the second period and played little afterward.
Friday's gutsy performance was a world different from last Saturday in Detroit, when Malkin lost composure and took bad penalties in a 5-0 Pittsburgh loss. He dominated on most shifts on Friday night in the Cup-clinching game.
(Editing by Nick Mulvenney)
Source: Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment