The Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin Olympic showdown might have been a bust, but their NHL matchup continues to be a big story.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Crosby and the Washington Capitals winger have combined for the last three MVP titles and are at the top of the hunt for this year's Hart Trophy. The latest vote of USA TODAY's NHL power rankings panel shows that Crosby is closing the gap.
In the previous vote, taken two weeks before the Olympic break began, Ovechkin led Crosby by 15 points. Now Crosby trails the two-time defending MVP by two points.
Neither player had a point when Canada crushed Russia in the Olympic quarterfinals. But Crosby scored the overtime goal against the USA in the gold-medal game.
Since the last vote, Crosby had 10 goals in his last 10 games to temporarily take over the goal-scoring lead with 44. He's third in the league scoring race with 84 points.
NHL points leader Ovechkin, meanwhile, had a six-game goalless drought spanning the Olympics. He ended that with two goals Monday night that tied him with Crosby.
Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene moved past Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers for the rookie lead.
About the power rankings
The USA TODAY NHL Power Rankings are voted on by five members of the USA TODAY editorial staff: Kevin Allen, Mike Brehm, Gary Graves, Chad Leistikow and Brad Windsor, plus USATODAY.com columnist Justin Bourne, Detroit Free Press hockey writer Helene St. James, The (Nashville) Tennessean hockey writer John Glennon, Windsor (Ontario) Star hockey writer Bob Duff and former NHL goalie and Versus analyst Darren Eliot.
Teams receive 10 points for a first-place vote down to one point for a 10th-place vote. Individual players receive five points for a first-place vote down to one for a fifth-place vote. Voting occurs every two weeks.
Untitled Document
Team ranking:
Rank
Team (first place votes)
Record (W-L-OL;
through games of March 7)
Points
Previous
ranking
Washington Capitals (9)
44-13-8 (96 pts., 1st in Southeast)
98
1
San Jose Sharks (1)
42-16-9 (93 pts., 1st in Pacific)
91
2
Chicago Blackhawks
43-17-5 (91 pts., 1st in Central)
79
3
Pittsburgh Penguins
40-22-4 (84 pts., 1st in Atlantic)
70
7
Vancouver Canucks
40-23-2 (82 pts., 1st in Northwest)
56
6
Phoenix Coyotes
39-22-5 (83 pts., 2nd in Pacific)
41
8
Buffalo Sabres
35-20-9 (79 pts., 1st in Northeast)
28
5
Los Angeles Kings
38-22-4 (80 pts., 3rd in Pacific)
27
9
New Jersey Devils
38-23-3 (79 pts, 2nd in Atlantic)
26
4
Colorado Avalanche
37-22-6 (80 pts., 2nd in Northwest)
19
10
Others receiving votes: Detroit Red
Wings 7; Philadelphia Flyers 3
Most Valuable Player ranking:
Rank
Player (first-place votes)
Team
Position
Stats (through games of March 7)
Points
1.
Alex Ovechkin (7)
Washington Capitals
LW
League-best 90 points
44
2.
Sidney Crosby (2)
Pittsburgh Penguins
C
League-best 44 goals
42
3.
Henrik Sedin
Vancouver Canucks
C
No. 2 in league with 85 points
21
4.
Ryan Miller (1)
Buffalo Sabres
G
Leads league in GAA, save pct.
20
5
Patrick Marleau
San Jose Sharks
C
4 short-handed, 6 game-winning goals
6
Others receiving votes: Joe Thornton,
San Jose, 7; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay, 3; Nicklas Backstrom, Washington,
3; Duncan Keith, Chicago, 2; Patrick Kane, Chicago, 1; Martin St. Louis,
Tampa Bay, 1; Marian Gaborik, N.Y. Rangers, 1; Ilya Bryzgalov, Pohoenix,
1.
Top goaltender
ranking:
Rank
Player (first-place votes)
Team
Stats (through games of March 7)
Points
1.
Ryan Miller (8)
Buffalo Sabres
32-15-7, 2.13 GAA, .932 save pct.
48
2.
Ilya Bryzgalov
Phoenix Coyotes
34-18-4, 2.30 GAA, .920 save pct.
28
3.
Evgeni Nabokov (1)
San Jose Sharks
36-10-9, 2.26 GAA, .927 save pct.
27
4.
Martin Brodeur (1)
New Jersey Devil
35-22-3, 2.37 GAA, .913 save pct.
16
5.
Miikka Kiprusoff
Calgary Flames
28-20-9, 2.22 GAA, .922 save pct.
11
Others receiving votes: Craig Anderson,
Colorado, 8; Tomas Vokoun, Florida, 6; Roberto Luongo, Vancouver, 4; Jimmy
Howard, Detroit, 1; Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles, 1
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