People really don't see why Crosby won the Conn Smythe? The guy was a monster in all three zones throughout the entire playoffs, and then took it to another level in the Finals. No, the points weren't all there but he still had 19 points in 24 games. I thought he was far and away the best player on the ice whenever he played in this series, and I thought he was very good vs Tampa Bay, too.
Pittsburgh's defensemen are also being underrated. They've got one elite defensemen in Letang, but Maatta and Dumoulin are pretty good defensemen, especially Dumoulin who has improved leaps and bounds in the skating department, which was his biggest weakness when he was drafted. Daley also played very well up until he got hurt. That's a very, very good top-4 if you ask me. Then Ian Cole and Ben Lovejoy could be relied upon to kill penalties and take the odd even strength shift, and they did that to a tee. Very good team defense.
So, so happy for Kessel. I hope he goes right to Steve Simmons' door step and throws a hot dog in his face for all the crap he's written about him over the years.
One thing is for sure for Pittsburgh: Chris Kunitz needs to be put away. They have to find a way to get him off the team this summer. He kills so many plays.