An Affair of the Hart

A month ago, league-wide consensus was that Alexander Ovechkin was pretty much a lock to win another Hart Trophy. Today, perhaps not so much. Alex has done nothing wrong since, and his Hart candidacy remains stellar. But his countryman Geno in Pittsburgh is going to win the league scoring title, comfortably, and he more so than his more hyped teammate pivot is having his name fairly widely associated with the Hart now (interesting, that), as the Pens have catapulted up the standings under the bench guidance of Dan Bylsma. (The Pens are 11-1-3 under Bylsma.)Malkin's candidacy this season may be benefiting, to no small extent, from his virtuoso efforts last year -- particularly when the Pens' precocious captain was shelved for weeks with a bad ankle sprain. Instead of collapsing, the Pens surged, with Malkin going great guns: Geno tallied 44 points in the 28 games Sidney missed. He finished second in scoring to Ovechkin last season, 6 points back of Ovi -- the first time in le...