"Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin has been named a finalist for the NHL Players' Association's most outstanding player award as voted by his peers, the union announced Thursday. The first annual Ted Lindsay Award -- the honor was previously known as the Lester B. Pearson Award -- will be presented at the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas on June 23. Ovechkin, winner of the Pearson the past two years, is joined by Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Vancouver's Henrik Sedin, who captured the scoring championship. The same three players are also finalists for the Hart Trophy for league MVP. The announcement was made as Ovechkin, one week removed from one of Washington's biggest postseason disappointments, was on the ice in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, preparing to help Russia defend its back-to-back world titles. With Ovechkin, fellow Capitals Alexander Semin and Semyon Varlamov, and high-scoring Ilya Kovalchuk on the roster and Canada boasting only one Olympian (Corey Perry), the Russians are the overwhelming favorite. They open Sunday against Slovakia. "It's better for some players more than others," Capitals General Manager George McPhee said when asked whether he approves of his players competing internationally for a second time in four months. "We're happy that Varly is there because he missed significant time with an injury and this will ultimately make him a better player because it's more experience. " http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/06/AR2010050605609.html
