Auston Matthews

The NHL MVP race is getting tighter as the regular season approaches its conclusion.

The Avalanche defenseman is one of the leading candidates for the Norris and should be in the Hart conversation as well. The Predators captain has been scorching hot in March, with 28 points in 14 games, getting on the score sheet in every contest this month besides one. The line of Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk have been the best line at 5 on 5 this season. Ovechkin jumped out early in the season as a leading candidate for the Hart, but has dropped down since, despite passing Jaromir Jagr for third place on the NHL's all-time goal scoring list. He produced 1.86 points per game last season, 1.52 in 2019-20 and 1.48 in 2018-19 (he's at a 1.484 this season and in 2018-19 he had a 1.487 so by a smidge, he had a better rate that season). I had him at No. 5 in the last MVP ladder, but his consistent playmaking ability has shot him up to third. He is on pace to set new career-highs in goals, assists and points. His 70 assists are first in the league, six ahead of the next-closest player which is Josi. He has totaled 93 points in 66 games, sitting in third behind McDavid and Draisaitl in points. But between the odds already stacked against a goaltender and Shesterkin showing recent signs that he is in fact human, is it enough to earn the votes? Not only is he an offensive machine, but he's greatly improved in his own zone, quickly becoming one of the best defensive forwards for the Leafs. It's making for a highly-contested fight to the finish of the regular season for the NHL MVP honor. It all has made for quite the Twitter banter back and forth between fans and media members alike, including Huberdeau's agent Allan Walsh defending his client in the MVP race.