Thursday, June 18, 2009 | 8:53 p.m.
More on the NHL Awards
- Thomas’s arduous journey through pro hockey now contains Vezina Trophy (6-18-09)
- Live play-by-play of the NHL Awards in Las Vegas (6-18-09)
- NHL stars weigh in: Can hockey work in Las Vegas? (6-18-09)
- NHL cleans up for Vegas awards show (6-18-09)
- Ovechkin, Kesler take 2K10 to the Strip (6-17-2009)
- Las Vegas revs up for NHL Awards (6-16-2009)
- A guide to the 2009 NHL Awards (6-16-2009)
- Q&A: Jeremy Roenick talks NHL Awards, hockey in Vegas and his place in pop culture lore (6-12-2009)
Sports writers are usually the first to lambaste a showboat, especially in a sport like hockey, which is at times governed by a mythic sense of sportsmanship and etiquette.
But none of that mattered to the hockey writers who voted perhaps the most flamboyant player in the NHL -- Washington Capitals star forward Alexander Ovechkin -- as the league MVP. He collected the honor Thursday night at the NHL Awards show.
Ovechkin made his third trip of the night to the Pearl Concert Theater stage to claim the coveted Hart Trophy for the second consecutive year, which he won in a landslide over Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin.
And in true Ovechkin fashion, he acted as if the trophy burned his hands as homage to his on-ice, "burning stick" celebration during the regular season.
"It's pretty important when people give you this award," Ovechkin said. "I don't want to stop. I want to be the best next year and I want to be in the same situation as Pittsburgh."
Ovechkin, who tallied 54 goals and 56 assists in the regular season, is now the first repeat winner of the Hart Trophy since Dominik Hasek did so with the Buffalo Sabres in 1997 and 1998.
Although Ovechkin did not score the most points in the regular season (Malkin did with 113), he did not win the Stanley Cup (Malkin did with the Penguins) and he did not earn playoff MVP honors (Malkin did with 36 points in 24 games), the Professional Hockey Writers' Association overwhelmingly chose Ovechkin for the Hart Trophy.
The writers voted prior to the start of the playoffs.
"I was surprised," Ovechkin said about edging Malkin. "But I'm glad and I'm very happy."
Perhaps Ovechkin's league-leading 54 goals on a league-leading 528 shots swayed the hockey writers as Ovechkin garnered 115 of the total 133 first place votes, while Malkin received just 12.
Ovechkin accumulated a total of 1,261 points in the voting as Malkin finished second with 787 and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk completed the Russian sweep in third place with 404 points.
"I'm not surprised, everybody like him," said Datsyuk, who won the Frank Selke Award and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. "(Ovechkin) is fun to watch. He scores lots of goals. He's really good for hockey. I'm happy for him."
Ovechkin also took home the Maurice Richard Trophy for leading the league in scoring during the regular season as well as the Lester B. Pearson Award, which is handed out to the most outstanding player as selected by the NHL Players' Association.
Ovechkin said he sends all of his trophies to his parents to keep safe in Russia.
"Personal stats is good and personal awards is good, but I just want to win the Stanley Cup," Ovechkin said.
For Malkin, winning that Stanley Cup trumped Thursday's awards and softened the blow of losing to Ovechkin for MVP honors again.
"It's OK, I still have the big trophy," Malkin said in reference to the Penguins' championship run this season.
Malkin did not leave Las Vegas empty-handed, though. Aside from the Conn Smythe Trophy Malkin picked up after Game 7 in Detroit as the playoff MVP, he also earned the Art Ross Trophy Thursday for leading the NHL in regular season points with 35 goals and 78 assists.
Although Ovechkin stole the show Thursday, it was really the trio of Ovechkin, Malkin and Datsyuk that highlights a significant trend in the NHL of Russian excellence.
"You can't wake up and be superstar," Ovechkin said. "You have to work. You can see how Malkin works and how Datsyuk works. They are great players and they work hard."
Palms Casino Resort has come a long way since its "Real World" debut in 2002. The boutique property features three distinct towers and a diverse mix of bars and restaurants across a 95,000-square-foot casino.
Palms, which features more than 1,200 rooms and fantasy suites, is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar transformation that will encompass an Ivory Tower room and suite redesign, new culinary additions, re-imagined gaming spaces and new, distinctive nightlife experiences.
In addition to newly designed rooms, during the first phase of the renovation, Palms will welcome Heraea, a high-energy American restaurant and lounge, and XISHI, a pan-Asian restaurant and lounge.
Fantasy Suites include the Hardwood Suite, the only hotel room in the world with its own basketball court.
Other amenities include the all-new Cantor Gaming® race and sports book, one of the few sports books in Las Vegas to include a poker room; SOCIAL; Scarlet; Chocolat Bistro; tonic bar; ghostbar; Pearl Concert Theater; Moon Nightclub; N9NE Steakhouse; Nove Italiano; Simon Restaurant & Lounge; Palms Pool & Bungalows; Kim Vō Salon; Drift Spa & Hammam; Brenden Theatres, a 14-theatre cineplex and more than 60,000 square-feet of meeting space.
Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or [email protected]
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy