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Crosby, Ovechkin, and Tavares are your Hart Trophy finalists

Alex Ovechkin

Washington Capitols’ Alex Ovechkin, of Russia, holds the Hart Memorial trophy as he poses with Lester Pearson Trophy, left, and the Maurice Richard trophy at the National Hockey League awards in Las Vegas Thursday, June 18, 2009. Ovechkin captured the two most prestigious awards in hockey for the second straight season on Thursday, winning the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the players’ choice for the most outstanding player. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

AP

Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and John Tavares are your 2013 Hart Trophy finalists, the award given for the league’s most valuable player.

Crosby, 25, missed 12 games this season thanks to a broken jaw but was only edged out as the league’s leading scorer late in the season. His 15 goals and 41 assists had him finishing fourth in the league in points. He helped lead the Penguins to the top seed in the Eastern Conference and an Atlantic Division title. He has one previous Hart Trophy to his credit for his play in the 2006-2007 season.

Ovechkin, 27, turned it on late in the season finishing the year with a league-leading 32 goals and finished third in the league in points. His play helped dig the Caps out of an early season hole that saw them near the bottom of the league. The Caps finished the year atop the Southeast Division and third in the East. He’s a two-time Hart winner taking home the award in back-to-back seasons in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

Tavares is the new guy in the group here. At 22 years-old, it’s his first time as a finalist for league MVP and his efforts in leading the Islanders to the playoffs for the first time since 2006-2007 didn’t go unnoticed. He finished the regular season third in the league in goals with 28. His steady improvement through his career shows this might be the first of many shots at MVP.

Possible snubs: Chicago’s Jonathan Toews for leading his team to the best record in the league. Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf for leading the Ducks to a division title after missing the playoffs last year. Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky for nearly getting the Blue Jackets to the playoffs.