A Look at the Conn Smythe Candidates After Round Three

With Johan Franzen's injury causing him to miss the Stars/Wings series, the Conn Smythe race has opened up to a whole swath of contenders, mainly the big names and usual suspects.

Right now, Sidney Crosby and Henrik Zetterberg sit 1-2 in the scoring race, with the likes of Malkin, Hossa(!), and Datsyuk not far behind.

Name               Team    GP   G   A   Pts   +/-

Sidney Crosby      PIT     14   4   17   21    6
Henrik Zetterberg  DET     16  11   10   21   15
Marian Hossa       PIT     14   9   10   19   7
Pavel Datsyuk      DET     16   9   10   19   12
Evgeni Malkin      PIT     14   9   10   19   5

While Crosby does have 2 less games played than Zetterberg,
I'd give Zetterberg the edge in the Conn Smythe race because goals are far more important than assists, and 7 is a large margin. Zetterberg also has a better +/-, and over twice as many shots on goal taken than The Kid.

Henrik also has 2 shorthanded goals and 3 game winning goals, which is tops among the Top 5. If I had to pick a winner after the first three rounds, he'd be it. I'd also give credit to Zetterberg for putting up his points against tougher defensive teams like Dallas and San Jose, compared to Crosby versus the likes of Philly and Ottawa.

Of course, we can't forget the starting goaltenders, both of whom have had an incredible playoff run.

Osbad: 13GP 10-2 1.60GAA 93.1SV%
Fleury: 14GP 12-2 1.70GAA 93.8SV%

Despite the fact that Osgood has a career full of mediocrity, and Fleury has had his growing pains, both goalies are practically 'money' right about now, and are neck and neck in terms on stats.

Of course, I'm loathe to give evil goalies too much credit, so I'd want them to prove