Thursday, May 21, 2009

Hats off to Evgeni Malkin

Game two of the Eastern Conference Finals definitely didn't disappoint. Well, for the Penguins fans, at least. What started out as a close game of back-and-forth goals turned into a scoring contest, with my Boys of Winter coming out on top. Winning 7-4 and going up 2-0 in the series before they head south -- now that's sweet.

What's truly awesome, though, is the accomplishments of the boys. Chris Kunitz finally found the back of the net for the first time during the playoffs, and looked so happy I thought he was going to cry.



Adorable. Man deserved it.

Another great accomplishment was Evgeni Malkin's lovely hat trick. Relatively quiet during most of the series with the Capitals, Geno finally burst back onto the scene with a strong game tonight. Expect him to continue this for the rest of the series, now that he's found his groove. I wish I had a screen cap of how cute his parents were after he scored that third goal, with his dad planting a big old kiss on his mom. Such supportive parents -- they must be so proud.

One thing I noticed glancing into the crowd (aside from one of the Hanson brothers! Oh my gosh!) were many Geno for MVP signs. I love Geno, and I campaigned for him to win the Hart Trophy all season, but frankly, I'm over it. Not like I think he doesn't deserve it, but I've forgotten about it, in lieu of the playoffs. 

Ovechkin will more than likely win the trophy, and good riddance. He may be a complete tool and inadequate at playing defense, but he scored the most goals, and that's what counts to the people watching hockey and voting on it. Frankly, I value assists over goals in a Most Valuable Player because someone who wills others to score is fulfilling the namesake of the honor.

But I don't care if Geno gets it. I'd give up 956 Hart Trophies for a chance at the Stanley Cup. And the fact of the matter is, Geno still has a chance at that, while Ovie is probably golfing.

No comments:

Post a Comment