from Dave Hodge of TSN,

I can't tell you who will win the Conn Smythe Trophy, but let me give you six names who warrant "thumbs up", with the suggestion that the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs will, almost certainly, be one of them. They are Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks and Tyler Johnson, Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

You may be wondering about one more. If the Tampa Bay goalie, Bishop, could be the Smythe winner, why not Chicago's Corey Crawford? Simply because it is unlikely that Crawford will be the main reason the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup when Kane, Toews and Keith have done so much to get them this far.

It should be pointed out that if Kane or Toews wins the Conn Smythe, he would become only the third forward to do so twice. The other two were Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

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