…and the Canucks go on to eliminate San Jose and move on to the Stanley Cup Final.
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Ryan Kesler
Two power play goals = big grin
In scoring twice to lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 overtime win (and a 2-1 series lead) over the Nashville Predators last night, centre Ryan Kesler advanced his case for a Conn Smythe Trophy win.
Best Player has already gone on record as predicting this honour for Kesler. He has excelled this year at both ends of the ice, scoring consistently while filling the role of shut-down centre matched against the likes of Crosby, Thornton, and Briere. His style of play is exactly what’s needed to win a Cup, and last night, his goals and overall dominance inspired some of his less visibly motivated teammates (hello, Henrik & Daniel) to help defeat the defence-first Preds.
In a nice piece in The Globe & Mail, Matthew Sekeres includes a quote from Kesler that typifies the mental edge of a future playoff MVP. Addressing his recent lack of scoring, Kesler says “I didn’t lack any confidence. I never thought for once that I couldn’t score. It was one of those things where you do all the right things, and you worry about the shifts that you don’t score. I didn’t change my game at all tonight…and I finally got the results.”
Unlike the Sedins, Kesler doesn’t need to score to contribute hugely in a victory. But last night, with two goals, he was the difference.
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Best Centre in the World
BP taps Vancouver Canucks centre Ryan Kesler as our early fave to take home the hardware as Stanley Cup playoff MVP for 2011.
Kesler can do it all. He’s the “second line centre” on the Canucks, which means he most often draws the assignment of trying to neutralize the other team’s top guys. In Vancouver’s current series against Chicago Blackhawks (the Canucks lead 3-0 after tonight’s game), Kesler is doing a masterful job taking key Hawks like Toews and Kane out of the equation. Kesler also regularly plays against top stars like Crosby, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Thornton, and the like.
But Kesler’s so talented that even as a checker, he produces offence (41 goals for the Canucks this year). So that means that other teams have to worry about him and his linemates, too. Plus, nobody plays the game with more heart and more smarts than #17.
Watch him as the Canucks eliminate the Hawks this week and move on toward a Stanley Cup…
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