Sid the Kid Shoots Back
  

For those of you hiding under a rock since the New Year, Sidney Crosby has led the Pittsburgh Penguins on a massive run over the last twenty games.

Once struggling to get into the final eight in the Eastern Conference, the Pens are within waddling distance of the New Jersey Devils for the lead in the Atlantic Division and sit in the fourth position overall in the East.

With all the impossible hype surrounding him last season, Crosby still fashioned a 100-point season (39G, 63A), but was an afterthought with Ovechkin's campaign. As the Penguins entered this season, the spotlight was on another Russian rookie, Evgeni Malkin, whose European vacation to get to the NHL was headline news in the summer.

And while Malkin has put up predictably strong numbers, he's not the reason that the Penguins have won 13 of their last 16 games.

Yes, Mark Recchi is ageless, Jordan Stall is tracking for 30+ goals and Marc Andre Fleury is maturing into an NHL goalie, but Crosby has put up numbers at the tender age of 19 in terms of the man he was originally compared to, Wayne Gretzky. Crosby has a 15 point lead over Vincent LeCavalier in the scoring race and barring injury, will come in over 130 points in his sophomore season, which would be the highest point total for any scoring leader since Mario Lemieux tallied 161 in 1996.

Ovechkin, still a virtuoso, remains in the top ten in scoring and is still the most dynamic player to watch for my money. But when you consider the Washington Capitals are sitting fourteen out of fifteen in the East, perhaps it's time to re-examine who the more valuable player is.
 

"Sidney's a real weapon, but they spread [their offence] out," said Toronto Maple Leafs forward Boyd Devereaux. "You certainly can't pay all your attention to Sidney, because other guys will step it up."

Crosby concurs: "It's important," he said of having a second line to pick up the slack. "We're not going to win if we don't have it. Everyone's got to contribute, especially with the way hockey is now, it's so tight."

Hey Sid, maybe it's not really THAT tight with a 130+ point season on track.

Crosby's detractors could tell you that with Ovechkin's presence on the Pittsburgh roster, he'd have them in first place in the Atlantic. Maybe yes, maybe no, but probably not; but when you think about choosing between the two, it's like asking if you'd rather date Jessica Simpson or Denise Richards, either way you win.

NETTING MVP'S

While Crosby's stats combined with the Pens' improvement make him an odds-on choice for the Hart Trophy at this point, my other two candidates for the honor are evidence that the game, with all the rule changes, hasn't really changed that much.

It's still about goaltending. New Jersey's Martin Brodeur has had an insane season; he's posted 11 shutouts during a year that is arguably his career best. It's not so much the doughnuts he's thrown up on the board; it's more the team he's doing it with. Talk about junior varsity, the Devils are next to last in goal scoring in the East, only ahead of the hapless Philadelphia Flyers (my, have times changed.)

And it's not like Brodeur has Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer in front of him either, the names on the jerseys clearing the crease in front of him read Lukowich, Oduya and Martin. Those three won't make anyone forget the 1971 Canadiens any time soon.

Brodeur, who hates to sit out games, may be the first goaltender in recent memory to record all his team's victories in a single season. Through Tuesday's action, he's got 36 triumphs and it wouldn't appear that his coach, Claude Julien, is going to turn to Scott Clemmensen for any wind as they try to overtake the Buffalo Sabres for first overall in the East and hold off the young Penguins for the Atlantic crown. At this pace, Brodeur would accumulate 50 victories and play in 79 games, a staggering total that makes one wonder if he could carry the Devils deep into the playoffs with such a workload.

About 2400 miles west, Roberto Luongo is preparing to run for mayor of Vancouver. I'm clowning you on that one, but with the season he's put in between the pipes for the Canucks, he'd get a lot of votes. A lot of folks would have been happy to ship Todd Bertuzzi out of town for a bag of pucks and a pack of smokes but to get back a Top 5 goaltender in the process was a steal and in the process, Vancouver was dealt the sad Dan Cloutier to Los Angeles, so the consequences of the deal was a grand slam.

The Canucks have amassed the NHL's best record since Christmas, an outstanding 17-3-3 mark, and extended their current win streak to four games after Sunday's 5-4 edging of Colorado and Luongo has been the central character.

Like New Jersey, the Canucks are offensively challenged at times; they have the least amount of goals scored in the top eight qualifiers for the playoffs. Tuesday night's Canucks victory against the slumping Ducks marked the first non-Luongo win this season, he's won the other 34 and stands to play in 78 games at his current pace; he is a workhorse, though as he's played in 75 and 72 games respectively in his last two seasons.

Conversely, Bertuzzi came up with a season-ending herniated disk making the trade one of the more one-sided ones in recent history. After playing in small markets like Florida and Long Island, he's stood up strong in the glare of the media attention north of the border. After being selected by the Islanders fourth overall in the 1997 Entry Draft, he endured five sub-.500 seasons and whispers that he was an overrated number one pick. He came back strong after the lockout and posted 35 victories, a 2.97 goals-against and a .914 save percentage.

Through Monday's action he's just been torrid, as his 10-2-2 record, 1.90 GAA , .942 save percentage shows. It's not like Roberto is facing 20 shots a game either, his workload is the heaviest in the NHL, facing the most shots of any goalie in the NHL.

His teammates know that they have to give him more support as evidenced by defenseman Mattias Ohlund's recent comments.

"Obviously we like the way we've been getting points lately, but we have to find a way to play better hockey and take some pressure off him (Luongo)," Ohlund said. "At some point, we're going to end up hurting ourselves."

Even Brodeur admits that Luongo's numbers are more impressive when you factor in the extensive travel the Canucks do, while most nights Martin sleeps in the comfort of his own bed thanks to the proximity of his Atlantic Division rivals (the Devs bus to Philly, Islanders and Rangers and have an hour flight to Pittsburgh.) While it's doubtful that the Devils nor the Canucks have the depth to carry them all four rounds, they certainly have the goaltenders who can.

NO TRUTH TO THE RUMOR...

...That phony phone calls were made to various Krispy Kreme doughnut shops around San Jose to deliver cases of doughnuts to the Shark Tank. The Sharks have had no problem putting oodles of them on the board themselves.

...That the 1976-77 Canadiens broke open a case of Molson to celebrate the Anaheim Ducks current skid. Anaheim, once threatening the Habs eight loss season, is 8-10-3 since Christmas although Teemu Selanne has been MVP worthy.

...That after six games in a Rangers' uniform, Sean Avery has alienated that entire Blueshirts' locker room. Just the guys that know him.

...That Peter Forsberg was seriously thinking about coming back to Philadelphia next season. Granted, they don't have cheese steaks in Sweden, but the Flyers are about as far away from a contender as there is. Foppa's better off in Hockeytown, where they'd be cool with an injury riddled 30 game regular season. After all, they do it with Dominik Hasek.

...That Gary Roberts would agree to play for the Rangers if a deal was made. His preference is to play for Toronto or Ottawa so he can have an early summer.

...That with Cristobal Huet's injury threatening his regular season, the fading Canadiens were considering LA's Dan Cloutier. Kings' GM Dean Lombardi tried to pay me to write a legitimate rumor, but I declined, I wanted a first round pick.

...That Commissioner Gary Bettman was going to step down. The scenario reminds me of that great flick, The Last King of Scotland. Not unlike the title's subject, General Idi Amin, it would take something like a government overthrow before Mr. Bettman would leave his Park Avenue perch.
 

Dennis Bernstein, the man behind SCORE! Media, is a columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com and the Los Angeles Correspondent for The Fourth Period Magazine.