The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup tonight. Henrik Zetterberg and linemate Pavel Datsyuk totalled four points in the win, which cost me third place in the Ed Jovanovski Memorial Stanley Cup Pool. (By the way, I KNOW Ed Jovanovski is not dead. It's an inside joke)
Fittingly, Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy, emblematic of the best performer over the course of the playoffs. Wasn't a doubt. That he scored the cup-winning goal was serendipity, a rich payoff for the player who had consistently been the best player on the ice throughout. Granted, he had a little help from Marc Andre Fleury on the winner, but the Penguin goalie was so outstanding that if Pittsburgh had won that game, and even lost the seventh game on Saturday, it might have been he who copped the Conn Smythe. So no hanging the head, Marc Andre.
Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby can rightfully be talked about at the best hockey player in the world. Both are offensive geniuses with a flare for the game. Zetterberg might STILL get the nod, given the fact that he is a complete player, a Bob Gainey with Brett Hull's scoring ability. The reason Zetterberg does NOT get the acknowledgement of the prior two names, is he plays with the sublimely talented Datsyuk. How would he do in his own? We won't find out any time soon. But in the meantime, appreciate Zetterberg for all that he does.
Including hoisting hardware.
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