May 12, 2010
Conn Smythe Watch
Halak's To Lose

by Tom Awad

The Puck Prospectus metric GVT (goals versus threshold) allows us to compare players at every position to determine who the true leaders are. As we go through the second round, a hero from the first round is back at it: Montreal Canadiens G Jaroslav Halak is staying just ahead of Sid the Kid, backstopping the Habs brilliantly in their tight series with the Pens.

Puck Prospectus: Player Power Rankings - Round 2

After a great Round 1, Halak holds off Crosby, quite literally, in Round 2.

Legend:

OGVT: Offensive GVT

GGVT: Goaltending GVT

DGVT: Defensive GVT

GVT: Total GVT

Rank Player                    Last Week   OGVT/GGVT    DGVT    GVT
1.   Jaroslav Halak, G, MON     1           7.0         0.0     7.0 

Comment: The story of the playoffs, Halak's superb play makes him by far the best goaltender of the playoffs so far, following in the rich tradition of Ken Dryden, Steve Penney, Patrick Roy and Jose Theodore, who all led underdog Canadiens teams to upsets in the past.

2.   Sidney Crosby, F, PIT      2           4.1         0.9     5.0   

Comment: An incredible slowdown in the second round for Sid, who has scored only three points against the Canadiens after scoring 14 points against Ottawa. If Pittsburgh is eliminated by Montreal, does that vindicate Alex Ovechkin & Co.?

3.   Jonathan Toews, F, CHI     -           4.5         0.4     4.9 

Comment: Toews has now taken over the playoff point-scoring lead, and has 17 points in his past seven games. Many thought he was Canada's best player in the Olympics, and if the Blackhawks win it all he'll be the favorite for the Conn Smythe.

4.   Joe Pavelski, F, SJS      10           4.0         0.8     4.8   

Comment: "The Big Pavelski" has become the offensive leader of the Sharks. With two top centers like Pavelski and Joe Thornton, the Sharks' offense may be unstoppable.

5.   Johan Franzen, F, DET      -           4.4         0.4     4.8  

Comment: Nobody gets up for the playoffs like the Mule. Since the lockout, Franzen is 101st with 93 regular-season goals, and second with 35 playoff goals.

6.   Henrik Zetterberg, F, DET  5           3.9         0.7     4.6

Comment: Since the lockout, Zetterberg has 43 playoff goals and 86 playoff points, both tops in the league.

 
7.   Mikael Samuelsson, F, VAN  3           3.5         0.6     4.1  

Comment: Samuelsson is still second with eight playoff goals, but only one of them has been scored in the second round.

8.   Daniel Sedin, F, VAN       6           3.0         0.3     3.3 

Comment: Daniel has been slowed down with only three points in four games against the Blackhawks, a trend that will have to change if the Canucks' season is to be extended.

9.   Patrick Sharp, F, CHI      -           2.9         0.3     3.2  

Comment: Sharp is a perfect example of why the Blackhawks are so strong: while he's far less flashy than teammates Patrick Kane, Toews and Marian Hossa, Sharp excels in all situations, with five power-play points and a short-handed goal this postseason.

10.  Pavel Datsyuk, F, DET      -           3.1         0.1     3.2 

Comment: In previous years, Datsyuk was criticized for slowing down his scoring pace in the postseason. This year, his 1.18 points-per-game average is much higher than the 0.88 he managed in the regular season.

A version of this story originally appeared on ESPN Insider .

Tom Awad is an author of Hockey Prospectus. You can contact Tom by clicking here or click here to see Tom's other articles.