CHICAGO — Tyler Johnson is becoming a victim of his own success.
Tampa's little ball of thunder leads the league in postseason goals (13), even-strength goals (10), points (23) and game-winning goals (4) and has been at the top of those categories for virtually the entire playoffs. Johnson was installed as the Lightning's odds-on favorite (9-2) by Odds Shark to win the Conn Smythe Trophy before the Stanley Cup Final and has a goal and assist in three games against the Blackhawks.
Yet all it has taken is two wonderful performances from Victor Hedman, who had 40-1 odds when the Final began, to suddenly be considered worthy of the Conn Smythe.
There's nothing wrong with weighting performances more heavily the deeper we get into the postseason. Hedman had two amazing passes in Game 3 and has held Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in check for three games. But to put that on par with what Johnson has done in the entire postseason speaks to the flaws in deciding the award along with human nature to get bored far too easily with greatness.
Before Johnson's goal in Game 2 against the Blackhawks, he had ...
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Article written by Dave Lozo
Why Tyler Johnson Should Still Be the Favorite to Win the Conn Smythe Trophy
June 9th, 2015 by Dave Lozo Leave a reply »
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