Crosby becomes youngest to win NHL scoring title
LOS ANGELES: Sidney Crosby made history and the New York Islanders returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2004 as the National Hockey League's regular season wrapped up in dramatic style on Sunday.
Crosby, a superstar in just his second season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, became the youngest player in history to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer.
Four months shy of his 20th birthday, Crosby recorded 120 points, six more than San Jose Sharks centre Joe Thornton, who won the award last season.
Meanwhile, the Islanders clinched the final post-season berth in the Eastern Conference with a thrilling 3-2 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils, who rested No 1 goaltender Martin Brodeur at East Rutherford.
The victory in which they wasted a two-goal lead and gave up the tying goal with less than a second left in regulation eliminates the Toronto Maple Leafs from the playoffs.
With 36 goals and 84 assists, Crosby has eclipsed the best seasons of several former phenoms who were expected to be the faces of the NHL.
In leading the Penguins to their first playoff berth since 2001, Crosby won the scoring title while seven months younger than Hall of Famer and Phoenix Coyote coach Wayne Gretzky, who claimed the prize in 1981 at 20 years, three months.
Gretzky's Coyotes beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Sunday but it might not be enough to allow general manager Mike Barnett to keep his job. There is speculation in Phoenix that Barnett could be fired in the coming weeks.
Compared to Gretzky
Like Crosby, Alexandre Daigle was once compared to Gretzky. But Daigle, the first selection of the 1993 draft by Ottawa, only reached a ceiling of 51 points three times in his enigmatic career that included a two-year hiatus to pursue acting.
And despite winning the Hart Trophy in 1995, Eric Lindros was not the dominant force he was touted to be after being drafted first by Quebec in 1991.
Currently a member of the Dallas Stars, Lindros recorded a career-best 115 points in 1995-96 but has suffered numerous concussions during an injury-plagued career.
As a rookie last season, Crosby was one of just seven players to post at least 100 points and finished second to Washington Capitals sensation Alex Ovechkin in Calder Trophy voting.
Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Maurice Richard Trophy after scoring a career-high and franchise-record 52 goals, two more than Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers.
Thornton, who won the Hart Trophy as MVP last season, led the NHL with a career-best 92 assists.
Thomas Vanek of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Buffalo Sabres ended the campaign with the league's top plus-minus rating at plus-47, while Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin was the scoring leader among rookies with 85 points.
On the other side of the puck, goalie Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild received a chance when teammate Manny Fernandez was injured and ran with it.
In his first season in the NHL following a solid career in his native Finland, Backstrom led all goaltenders in goals-against average of 1.97.
Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils posted 12 shutouts - just three short of the modern record set by Hall of Famer Tony Esposito in 1969-70.
Agencies
(China Daily 04/10/2007 page24)
