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About The Hellgate Lance (Missoula, Montana) 1964-current | View This Issue
The Hellgate Lance (Missoula, Montana), 04 May 2015, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/TheHellgateLance/2015-05-04/ed-1/seq-14/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
• • • • • • 14 Sports Price, Curry Lead Respective League Races For · MVP Bo Kendall NHL Assistant Sports Editor NBA The Hart Memorial Trophy is the NHL equivalent to the Most Valuable Player award in other major sports, and is selected by a poll of *e Profession- al Hockey Writers' . Association at the end of the season. The Hart Memorial Trophy was first awarded in 1960, and named after the original Hart Trophy, donated to the NHL by Dr. Da-rid A. Hart in 1923. The Hart Memorial Tro- phy is currently awarded annually to the player most valuable to his team. Wayne Gretzky has won the most Hart trophies in a career with nine, includ- ing eight in a row from 1980-87. 2014 saw Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins win his second Hart Memorial Trophy, but who will in 2015? Here is a run down of some NHL stars who are making their case as the league's best players. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens One of the most popular choices for the Hart trophy right now is Montreal goaltender Carey Price. The Canadiens finished as the 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but were 8th in the conference in scoring. Clearly, a large part of their success this year has been due to Price. Price leads the league with a 44-16 record, 93.3% save percentage, and 1.96 goals allowed per game aver- age during the regular season. Price has been the best goaltender in the NHL this year, and is considered a lock for the Vezina Trophy, given to the best goaltender. Price, who won a gold medal with Canada as the starting net- minder at the 2014 Olympics, is one of the NHL's emerging superstars, and is a fa':orite for this year's Hart trophy. John Tavares, New York Islanders The number one overall draft pick in the 2009 NHL draft has lived up to the hype during the 2014-15 season. John Tavares finished second in the league in points this season while playing for the New York Islanders. Tavares was second to only Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, who did not make the playoffs, making Tavares the leading scorer entering the postseason. He led the Islanders to a playoff berth, where they faced the Washington Capi- tals in the first round. Tavares is known for his hard-nosed approach to the sport, effecting every inch of the ice, and also his pure ability to put goals in the back of the net. Speaking of budding superstars, like Price, Tavares is definitely another player who will certainly have his fingerprints all over the NHL for many years to come. Alexander Ovechkln, Washington Capitals · Alexander Ovechkin is seeking his fourth Hart Memorial Trophy, and put together a very convincing body of work during the 2014~15 regular season. Russia's biggest hockey star was the NHL's leading goal-scorer with 53, ten more than second-place finisher Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay. Ovechkin lead the Washington Capitals to the 4th seed in the East and getting the home ice advantage of their first round playoff match up with Tavares' Island- ers. Ovechkin has been battling injury lately, but has put together a strong campaign this season, and could easily end up taking the Hart Memorial Trophy home. The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award is given to the best-performing player in the league during the regular season. It was first awarded during the 1955-56 NBA season, to Bob Petit. Bill Russell and Michael Jordan are tied for winning the most MVP awards with 5, and LeBron James and Wilt Cham- berlain are tied for second with 4 apiece. None of the three front-runners shown below have won an MVP award before. Of these three relatively young players, who will cement their name in the history of NBA greats? Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors In his song 0 to lOO!I'he Catch-up, rapper Drake dubbed the Warriors star point guard 'Chef Curry'. Whether or not he is really a chef, Stephen Curry has been cook- ing up an MVP·type season in Oakland. Curry has lead the team in points, assists, and steals, with 23.8, 7.3, and 2.0 respectively. During this 2014-15 season, Curry and new coach Steve Kerr took the Warriors to new heights, and the best record in the NBA, finishing an incredible 67-15. Curry played a key role in helping the Warriors earn the all-important home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs, especially through his continued prowess at knocking down the long ball. Curry made 286 three-point field goals on 44.3% shooting, breaking his own all·time NBA record that he set back in 2012-13 with 272. With his lethality from long range, he helped the Warriors go an insane 39·2 in their home arena this season. Curry has simply been the best player on the best team, and has built a strong case for MVP. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans Anthony Davis was famous from the day he entered the NBA, but mostly due to his unmistakable facial feature--his unibrow. Now, Davis has taken the league by storm, with his back to the basket post play, rim-shattering slam~ and paint-protecting blocks. From the first game of the season, it was clear the Davis would put up some unbelievable numbers in 2014-15, with a performance of 26 points, 17 rebounds, 9 blocks (!!!), 3 steals, and 2 assists. Davis set the standard high, but continued to post crazy numbers, averaging 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game. The case for Davis is that without him, there is no way his team would be in the playoffs, unlike Steph Curry and the Warriors. The Pelicans, even without point guard Jrue Holiday, managed to outlast the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 8 seed in the West· ern Conference playoffs, with a reco~d of 45-37. Davis was certainly the most valuable player on his team this season, but we can only wait and see if he will be deemed most valuable player in the league. James Harden, Houston Rockets James Harden is another player who is defined by facial hair and a motto that goes with it: fear the beard. Harden's thick, long, black beard allows him to intimidate op- ponents, and has been part of his development into a unique persona-·an unstoppable offensive force. Harden finished second to Russell Westbrook as leading scorers in the league based on per game average , but shot a much higher percentage while playing on a playoff team, rather than being a part of the disappointment that was this year's Thunder. Harden averaged 27.4 points per game on 44% shooting, and 37.5% shoot· ing from the 3·point line. Throughout the year, Harden played in 81 games of an 82 game schedule, and scored over 300 points more than any other player in the league . Many of Harden's criticisms from the past have come from his defensive efforts, but this year he developed into one of the league's premier perimeter defenders. Harden put up truly remarkable scoring numbers, while leading the Rockets to the playoffs, and could easily end up winning the MVP trophy.
