After the first round, Corey Crawford, Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Quick, and David Krejci were the Conn Smythe choices for their respective teams. How do these players stack up after the second round?
Sidney Crosby
The Penguins Captain continued his terrific play this post season with six points in five games against the Ottawa Senators. Crosby exploded for a hat trick in Game 2 and put up two big points in Game 4. Sid the Kid put up nine points in the opening round against the New York Islanders and he was at his best in the clutch. He scored a highlight reel goal in Game 5 to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead. In Game 6 he assisted on the tying goal shortly after the Islanders took a 1-0 lead. He also assisted on the overtime winner in Game 3 after his team was outplayed by the Islanders.
Kris Letang
If anyone is going to steal away the spotlight from Crosby in this playoff run, it will be Letang. The defenseman is tied for the Penguins' points lead with 16 and has a +7 this postseason. He recorded 10 points against the Senators after scoring six against the Islanders.
Corey Crawford
The Chicago goalie has been tremendous for the Blackhawks. During the three game losing streak to Detroit, Crawford still managed to stop .906 percent of the shots he faced. He stopped 25 or more shots in the final six games of the series and sports a 1.70 GAA and a .938 save percentage. No other player was more valuable to Chicago's success against Detroit than Crawford. His performance against Minnesota was equally compelling as Crawford only allowed seven goals in five games in that series.
Tuuka Rask
Rask was shaky against Toronto in the first round. Any moments of brilliance from the Boston keeper were overshadowed by tremendous performances from David Krejci and Boston's top line. The latter group struggled a bit against the New York Rangers, but Rask stepped up his game and outplayed the best goalie in the world in a five game series. Rask's 2.28 goals against average and .928 save percentage may look pedestrian when compared to other top goalies in this postseason, but there is no denying his terrific play in the semifinals. After conceding 18 goals in seven games against the Maple Leafs, Rask limited the Rangers to just 10 goals in five games. He stopped 23 or more shots in every single one of those games and stopped 94 percent or more of the shots he faced in four of the five games.
Jonathan Quick
The Los Angeles goalie picked up where he left off a year ago in his Conn Smythe winning campaign. He has recorded a .948 save percentage and a 1.50 goals against average; a year ago he stopped .946 percent of the shots he faced and only allowed 1.41 goals against average. Quick has also been finding his stride with a more inconsistent offense. While his squad was blowing out teams a year ago, the Kings have won six of their eight games by one goal; a year ago the team won six of their first eight games by two or more games.
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