Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin named League MVP, wins Lindsay Award -NHL Update
When it came down to the annual National Hockey League (NHL) Awards, Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin was the man in the spotlight as he was named not only the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), but also took home the Ted Lindsay Award and Art Ross Trophy.
This moment, on Wednesday, June 20, 2012, was one that Malkin had been waiting for all year long since he had been tipped off to be the winner quite a while back and according to a number of players around the league, he certainly deserved it as well.
With Pittsburgh still dealing with captain issues as superstar Sidney Crosby had his own ups and downs, Malkin stayed consistent and lead his team through each and every challenge. He led Penguins to the fourth number spot in the Eastern Conference with
108 points and was just two away from grabbing the top spot from New York Rangers.
There amazing run unfortunately came to an end early in the playoffs as Philadelphia Flyers eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round of the postseason.
For Evgeni Malkin, this is definitely one way that the league has showed him that his work did not go to waste and hopefully, it will not be the last time.
"It's a special day to me," Malkin said. "I hope it's not the last one. I try to work every year and I hope to be here again."
Having him on the team would be an honour for any team for sure and Penguins’ head coach, Dan Bylsma, certainly cherishes his player.
"With Geno this year, the amazing part of what he was doing is that the other players, both his teammates and the other players in the League, (were) repeatedly saying things about how dominant and how special and how awesome some of the things he was doing
on the ice," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. "How he was taking over games. How he was playing an almost unstoppable type of game.”
With 109 points (50 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games played last season, Evgeni Malkin is continuing to break into new territory and certainly has a bright future in the NHL.
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