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Edmonton star Connor McDavid muddies NHL MVP picture

Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) skates against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) skates during warmups before play against the Florida Panthers in an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Joe Skipper)
Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid skates against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin plays against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, March 22, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
New Jersey Devils' Taylor Hall (9) puts the puck behind Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray (30) for an overtime goal during an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Friday, March 23, 2018. The Devils won 4-3. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) loses control of the puck in front of Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Petr Mrazek (34) with Ivan Provorov (9) defending during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, March 25, 2018. The Penguins won 5-4 in overtime. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov skates before an NHL hockey game against the Arizona Coyotes, Monday, March 26, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, of Russia, winds up for a shot during the second period of the team's NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Wednesday, March 28, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
New York Rangers defenseman John Gilmour (58) battles with Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 28, 2018, in Washington. The Capitals won 3-2 in overtime. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) warms up before playing against the New York Rangers in an NHL hockey game, Friday, March 30, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
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By / Las Vegas Review-Journal
March 31, 2018 - 4:16 pm
 
Updated March 31, 2018 - 4:24 pm

A longtime friend called last week to discuss the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is “an annual award given to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team.” (Keep that definition from the NHL in mind moving forward.)

“Who are you voting for?” she asked, about 17 seconds into the conversation.

“Not McDavid,” was the response.

Rage ensued.

The race for this year’s MVP has more entrants than the Kentucky Derby, and with Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid leading the league in scoring, it’s raised an interesting dilemma for voters.

Can a player win the award if his team misses the playoffs?

McDavid, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, entered Saturday’s game against Calgary with 103 points and is the first player with back-to-back 100-plus-point seasons since Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (2007 to 2010) and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (2008 to 2010).

Since Feb. 1, McDavid has a league-best 49 points (26 goals, 23 assists) to overtake Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for the overall lead. Meanwhile, Edmonton flounders with a sub-.500 record.

That’s not necessarily McDavid’s fault, but all he is doing is padding his stats with three-run homers in the bottom of the eighth inning with his team trailing 9-1.

The issue isn’t whether McDavid is the best player in the league. He is. This is about value.

And without McDavid, Edmonton would be 29th in the league standings instead of 23rd. (Some have even argued that McDavid’s outstanding play the past two months hurts the Oilers’ chances in the draft lottery, thus decreasing his value.)

Had McDavid run away with the scoring race, it might be easier to support his Hart candidacy. But not in a year with so many worthy contenders for the award.

New Jersey’s Taylor Hall has the Devils on the brink of the playoffs one season after they posted the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Hall’s 86 points are 30 more than teammate Nico Hischier, which is the largest margin in the league between the top two point producers on one team.

Ovechkin is approaching 50 goals as Washington nears its third straight division title, while Evgeni Malkin snapped Pittsburgh out of its Stanley Cup hangover with a strong second half.

There’s also Kucherov, Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar, Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux and a host of other candidates.

And what happens if Nathan MacKinnon is unable to carry Colorado into the postseason? It’s tough to argue MacKinnon and McDavid had equal value to their team when the Avalanche went from 48 points a year ago to playoff contender.

It figures this would be the year that the Professional Hockey Writers Association voted for the first time to make their ballots public.

Living the dream

Scott Foster has been the Chicago Blackhawks’ emergency goaltender for approximately a dozen games this season.

“Usually I just head upstairs, watch the game from the press box, have a bite to eat and head home,” he said.

But the 36-year-old accountant from Oak Park, Illinois, was pressed into action during the third period Thursday when Chicago lost Anton Forsberg and Collin Delia to injuries.

Wearing jersey No. 90, Foster made seven saves over the final 14:01 and was named the No. 1 star in the Blackhawks’ 6-2 win over Winnipeg.

“Who would have thought?” Foster, who played 55 games at Western Michigan from 2002 to 2006, said jokingly. “You just keep grinding away in men’s league, and eventually you’ll get your shot.”

Lottery odds

The NHL announced the odds for the 2018 Draft Lottery — and the right to select Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick.

The team with the fewest points will have an 18.5 percent chance of landing the first overall pick, followed by a 13.5 percent chance for the 30th-place team. Buffalo had a league-low 60 points entering Saturday.

The 15 clubs that do not qualify for the playoffs – or the clubs that acquired first-round picks from those clubs – will participate in the lottery April 28 in Toronto.

The Golden Knights traded their 2018 first-round pick to acquire Tomas Tatar from Detroit.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

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