Every Monday Mike Brophy will check in on the leading candidates for the Stanley Cup playoffs MVP.
Goaltenders are dominating the race for the Conn Smythe Trophy in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. While some teams - namely Philadelphia and Vancouver - have major goaltending concerns, others such as Tampa Bay, Nashville and San Jose are thrilled with their stoppers.
Here are this week's top five leading contenders for the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the playoffs:
Antti Niemi, San Jose Sharks: When will this guy start getting the respect he deserves?
Antti Niemi led the Chicago Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup championship last year and his reward was being set free - replaced by Marty Turco who didn't play a minute in the playoffs this year. This season Niemi is already 5-2 and his win Sunday against Detroit didn't come easy. He made 33 saves; many of them were of the most difficult nature. At age 27, Niemi is just hitting his prime and could be a valuable member of the Sharks for years to come.
Dwayne Roloson, Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning knew it needed an upgrade in goal if it was to contemplate going deep into this year's playoffs and thus far, 41-year-old Dwayne Roloson has been the answer. With the help of Tampa Bay's effective 1-3-1 defensive scheme, Roloson has been highly effective in turning away Washington Capitals sharpshooters as the Lightning have built a 2-0 lead with back-to-back wins on the road. Roloson has been especially effective while his team is shorthanded.
Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators: A finalist for the Vezina Trophy, it should come as no surprise to anybody that Pekka Rinne has carried over his fabulous regular season into the playoffs. Few teams depend as much on their goaltender as the low-scoring Predators and Rinne, who is in his third full NHL season, has been money in the bank so far. Although he faced just 15 shots through the first three periods of Game 2 against Vancouver, he was lights out in overtime robbing the Sedin twins as well as Kevin Bieksa as the Preds won to even the series.
Danny Briere, Philadelphia Flyers: The 33-year-old right winger continues to dominate in postseason scoring. Good thing, too, based on the Flyers lousy goaltending. A year after leading the Stanley Cup playoffs in scoring with 12 goals and 30 points in 23 games, Briere continues to hold a hot hand with seven goals in the Flyers first eight games. Briere has goals in his last four games.
Vinny Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning: Vinny's back! After a couple of injury-filled seasons during which he heard constant rumors that he'd be traded, Vinny Lecavalier is back to being an energetic, high-scoring forward for the Lightning. The 31-year-old centre has four goals in the playoffs and three of them - including Sunday night's in overtime - have been game-winners.
Last Week: Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks, Ryan Clowe, San Jose Sharks, Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning, Mike Fisher, Nashville Predators, Dave Bolland, Chicago Blackhawks.
