Chipped Ice A.M.: Crosby, Malkin pull neck and neck in Conn Smythe race
The hockey season in Pittsburgh began nine months ago with a competition between Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
On Sept. 14, in an exhibition game leading up to the World Cup of Hockey, Crosby and Team Canada defeated Malkin and Team Russia 3-2 on a Ryan Getzlaf goal in overtime.
Now as the season draws to a close – it will end either Sunday night in Nashville with a Penguins victory in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final or in Game 7 Wednesday night in Pittsburgh otherwise – Crosby and Malkin are competing again.
This time, it's for the Conn Smythe Trophy, given annually to the NHL's playoff MVP.
Malkin has been the front-runner for much of the playoffs. He's been the league's leading postseason scorer since racking up 11 points in five games in the first round against Columbus. He's been a consistent scoring threat too, finding the scoresheet in 17 of 24 Penguins playoff games.
Crosby has made a late surge to pull neck and neck with Malkin, if not ahead of him. With a goal and six assists in the final series, he has pulled within one point of Malkin's league-leading total of 28. His defenseman-splitting, penalty-drawing, tone-setting rush in the opening minute of Game 5 propelled the Penguins to within one win of the franchise's fifth Stanley Cup.
If either Malkin or Crosby wins the award, he will join an elite group of players who have won the Conn Smythe twice. It includes Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Patrick Roy and Bernie Parent. Malkin first won the award in 2009. Crosby took it last year.
Malkin and Crosby are already part of a small group of forwards from the same team to claim the trophy. It includes the Montreal duos of Jean Beliveau and Yvon Cournoyer and Bob Gainey and Guy Lafleur, the New York Islanders trio of Bryan Trottier, Butch Goring and Mike Bossy, the Oilers pair of Gretzky and Mark Messier and the Blackhawks tandem of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
"I think it's pretty unique," Crosby said. "You don't see that too often. We've been pretty fortunate to play with each other for a long time and win together and things like that. I think there's a certain level of appreciation.
"I think we both feel fortunate. I know I can speak for myself. I feel fortunate to have him this long. As far as the whole group too. There's a few of us who have played together for a while. You look at opportunities like this. They don't' come around often. You want to make the most of them."
Despite the high-profile competition between Crosby and Malkin for the honor, it wouldn't be fair to call it a two-horse race.
Jake Guentzel, most notably, remains an intriguing candidate. He leads the league with 13 goals and five game-winning goals in the playoffs, including two in the final series. With 21 points, he's tied with Dino Ciccarelli and Ville Leino for the highest-scoring postseason by a rookie in NHL history. All but one of his goals have come at even strength.
Penguins goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray can't be forgotten, either.
The NHL ruled Conn Smythe voters may not fill out their ballot with a dual Fleury-Murray entry, which makes the candidacy for either a longshot. Still, Fleury was brilliant in carrying the Penguins through the first two rounds of the playoffs while Murray has picked up the ball and carried it one win from the goal line. Both have recorded two playoff shutouts. Both won a Game 7.
It would be awfully foolish to leave Predators players out of the discussion at this point as well, of course. If they win Game 6 at home, defenseman Roman Josi and goalie Pekka Rinne, to name two, will be right back in the conversation.
Rinne's candidacy took a serious blow with three poor performances at PPG Paints Arena in the final series. That opened the door for Josi, who leads all remaining defensemen in scoring with 14 points. A vote for Josi would be a vote for Nashville's top four defensemen, who have carried the Predators to unprecedented heights this postseason.
THE SERIES: Penguins lead, 3-2
LAST GAME: Crosby had three assists and Malkin a goal and an assist to lead the Penguins to a 6-0 victory in Game 5 Thursday night.
NEXT GAME: The Penguins will try to claim the Stanley Cup in Game 6 on the road for the second straight year when the puck drops a little after 8 p.m. Sunday.
A NOTE: Justin Schultz has scored four playoff goals. Among defensemen, only Larry Murphy (five in 1991) and Kris Letang (five in 2016) have scored more in one postseason in Penguins history.
A QUOTE: "If you can see your ultimate goal right in front of you, you should be able to drive yourself to have the best game of your life." – Chris Kunitz
A NUMBER: 4-1 – the Penguins' all-time record when they can eliminate an opponent from the Stanley Cup Final. The lone loss came in Game 5 last year against San Jose. They're 4-0 on the road.
Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.
