Alex Ovechkin capped his great season with the NHL's biggest award. The Washington Capitals right wing won his third Hart Trophy, given to the league's MVP, on Saturday night, beating out Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and John Tavares of the New York Islanders. Ovechkin led the NHL with 32 goals during the regular season, the first time he's led the league in scoring since 2009, when he won his second straight Hart Trophy. "It was kind of hard, but as everybody knows, I like challenges," Ovechkin, who was moved to the right wing this season, said in taped remarks. "It was a big challenge for me and the coaching staff, but we make it." Ovechkin is the eighth player to win three or more Harts, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Clarke, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Eddie Shore and Howie Morenz. The vote was expected to be close after Ovechkin and Crosby tied for fourth in the NHL with 56 points, despite the Penguins center missing 12 games with a broken jaw. And it was, with Ovechkin edging Crosby by just 32 points (1,090-1,058) in voting by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. It was the closest Hart vote since Montreal's Jose Theodore and Calgary's Jarome Iginla finished in a virtual tie in 2002. Crosby did, however, win the Ted Lindsay Award from his fellow NHL Players' Association members as the league's best player. Source: ESPN
