Split decision

Vancouver linemates could be headed for 1-2 Hart finish

More in this column: * Thrashers' duo on deck * Ducks could be tough in playoffs * Columbus needs backup in net * Worth noting

Does having an elite linemate help or hurt a Hart Trophy campaign?

Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi are both having career years, but the Canucks' first-line wingers could actually hurt each other in voting for the league MVP. They certainly wouldn't be in the position they are in without each other and playmaking center Brendan Morrison, but award voters could, in essence, punish them for playing on such a formidable line with another MVP candidate.

While Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk have clicked since teaming up on Colorado's first line in December, and Glen Murray and Joe Thornton have teamed brilliantly once again in Boston, Vancouver's terrific twosome has unquestionably been the top tandem in the NHL this season.

Not since Bruins teammates Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito in 1971 have teammates finished 1-2 in the Hart Trophy voting. Toronto's Ted Kennedy and Harry Lumley (1955), Montreal's Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard (1945) and Boston's Bill Cowley and Dit Clapper (1941) are the only other teammates to finish first and second in the MVP voting.

Naslund and Bertuzzi could end that 32-year drought, but the possibility exists that they could split some of the vote and allow Forsberg, Thornton or Mario Lemieux to triumph in what is expected to be a close vote. Naslund is the favorite to take the Lester Pearson Award, the players' MVP, based on his first-place finish in The Hockey News' poll of one member of each team. Naslund received 12 votes (40 percent), while Bertuzzi got just one. Of course, this voting took place before Bertuzzi went on his recent scoring tear, netting seven goals and adding four assists in the past six games.

"Naslund is so smart with the puck," Thrashers right wing Dany Heatley told THN for its poll. "He's got good hands and he can skate and has good vision, but he's so smart. Those two guys know each other so well and Bertuzzi plays his power game so well. It's tough to stop either one."

Together they have helped the Canucks tie a 10-year-old franchise record with 101 points. And the team still has four games left to break it. Vancouver is still in the hunt for home-ice advantage for the Western Conference playoffs, and a repeat of last year's first-round exit would rankle Canucks fans who have heightened expectations this time around.

"It says a lot about this team," Naslund told the Vancouver Sun. "We haven't made a lot of free-agent signings. The management group kept us together and let us grow. And we still have guys who are developing and getting better."

Naslund was the first player to reach 100 points Thursday when he had a helper on Ed Jovanovski's third-period power-play goal. And Bertuzzi is just six points from making them the first teammates since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96 to pass 100 points.

"It's an honor to be mentioned in those kind of categories, alongside with Markus, my teammate," Bertuzzi said on the league's weekly teleconference. "First and foremost, is our team goals. For the past couple years, we set goals as a team for what we want to accomplish. Obviously, the way our team's been playing, the kind of success we have, individuals are going to succeed, too. It's just a good tribute to our teammates.

The worry about the Canucks all season was that they were too top heavy. Just the opposite has happened, and now Vancouver is getting scoring from all four lines thanks to their first unit wearing out the opponent's top defensive pair and allowing the remaining three forward lines to skate against the weaker two blueline units.

"Everyone complained about our secondary scoring, but there was never a lack of secondary scoring," Canucks center Matt Cooke told the Vancouver Sun. "Todd, Markus and Brendan have just done so well they've gotten all the attention. They're going to get most of the press because they do score so many points. But all four lines are dangerous in the offensive zone, one more than others."

Two MVP candidates may cause problems for writers come voting time, but it's a dream scenario for every coach and general manager. And the Canucks have their best shot at a Stanley Cup in nine years thanks to their Hart-worthy tandem.

Thrashers have the next terrific tandem

Their fourth straight losing campaign is winding down, but the Atlanta Thrashers took some big steps forward this season, especially after Bob Hartley replaced Curt Fraser.

Most notable among the things to look forward to in Atlanta is the continued improvement of their young tandem of Ilya Kovalchuk and Heatley. Heatley and Kovalchuk need four goals each in the last six games to reach 40 for the season, a level not even team management expected them to reach this season.

"Going into the season, I never thought they'd get to 40," Thrashers general manager Don Waddell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "But now, they're knocking on the door. I think they both have a real chance."

Kovalchuk has 36 goals this season after scoring 29 as a rookie. Those 65 goals are the sixth most by an NHLer before his 20th birthday behind Jimmy Carson (92), Dale Hawerchuk (85), Wayne Gretzky (76), Brian Bellows (76) and Steve Yzerman (69). Carson only tallied 183 more after turning 20, but the reamining quartet all scored 485 or more goals.

If the 19-year-old Russian left winger scores another three goals in the Thrashers' final six games, he would finish with 39 this season and will have averaged 34 over his first two seasons. He is likely to settle in as a regular 45- to 50-goal scorer, but even a conservative estimate of the remainder of his career shows his potential to rank among the all-time goal-scoring greats. If he averages 34 goals per season, he would pass the 500-goal mark in 2016, at just 33 years old. You hate to jinx the kid, but 600 -- or maybe even 700 -- career goals aren't out of the question for this rare talent.

Heatley, meanwhile, has emerged as a point-per-game guy, and his All-Star Game MVP performance raised his stock around the league. He is a lock to be chosen for Team Canada is the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and will assuredly wear the red-and-white maple leaf sweater in the 2006 and 2010 Olympics, if NHL players participate.

In our 2002-03 Thrashers team preview, I compared Heatley to Ron Francis and wrote: "While Ron Francis' career total of 1,187 assists would certainly be a best-case scenario, a goal of matching the 2001-02 numbers of Francis (27 goals, 50 assists) might be reasonable." With 77 points in 71 games this season, Heatley made my prediction (and his on-ice skills) look good. He is likely to settle in as an 85- to 95-point player and will be an elite two-way player for the next decade.

While Bert and Nazzy may be the duo of the here and now, Atlanta's future looks bright in the hands of Heater and Kovy.

Ducks defy logic with surprising season

With only two playoff appearances in franchise history, it's hard to pick the Ducks to do too much in the postseason this time around either. But Mike Babcock and Anaheim have been proving people wrong all season long.

After a 1-0 loss to the Oilers on Jan. 8, the Ducks were just 15-16-7-3 and looking like a postseason longshot. But a 23-10-2-2 record since Jan. 9 clinched a playoff position and likely cemented Babcock's place as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.

But it wasn't just the second half of this season that made the Ducks into a playoff team. An impressive slew of offseason moves by general manager Bryan Murray was highlighted by the signing of Adam Oates and the trade for Petr Sykora. Along with captain Paul Kariya, they have Anaheim's power play connecting at a 16.4 percent success rate, good for 15th in the league. Last year the Ducks struggled with just a 11.5 percent conversion rate and limped to a 30th-place showing with the man advantage.

"Last year, we finished off strong and we played defensively well all year," Kariya told the Orange County Register. "We lacked a power play and we lacked scoring. With the additions Bryan made last summer, we addressed that. I knew if we continued to play well defensively, we were going to have a great opportunity of making the playoffs because of the increased offensive support."

Anaheim moved a franchise-best 12 games over .500 with Tuesday's 5-0 win against Columbus and upped its record to 8-2-1-1 in its past 12 games. Of course the reward for all of this will be a first-round appointment with either Detroit, Dallas or Vancouver. Some reward that is. Then again, despite the formidable opponent, the plucky Ducks won't go quietly in the playoffs no matter who they match up against.

Help wanted sign out for backup netminder

The Blue Jackets might want to invest in a backup goalie in the offseason if one of their three young prospects doesn't step forward. Starter Marc Denis proved he can carry a heavy load, but faded down the stretch after playing so much in the early going.

Denis' hope of matching Grant Fuhr's 1995-96 mark of 79 games was dashed on Tuesday when Jean-Francois Labbe went the distance in a 2-1 overtime win against the Kings.

"You don't get that far without thinking about the record," Denis told the Columbus Dispatch. "But, all things considered, the situation was not favorable. We have three sets of back-to-backs in a row. Above and beyond that, J.F. deserved to play [against the Kings]."

Denis can still reach Martin Brodeur's 1995-96 record of 4,433 minutes by playing four of the Jackets' final six games, which would give him 4,447.

With a goals-against average of 3.07 and a save percentage of .904, Denis certainly needs some defensive help in front of him, an area general manager Doug MacLean is expected to address in the offseason. But the Jackets need to have Labbe, Karl Goehring or Pascal Leclaire emerge from the pack in traning camp next fall to be able to handle a few more starts and keep Denis rested throughout the season. Failing that, a veteran backup may be the way to go just to get Denis' starts down to a more reasonable level of between 65 and 70.

Worth noting

Patrick Roy's shutout win over the Kings on Thursday moved him 100 victories ahead of second-place Terry Sawchuk. ... The Panthers-Sabres game in Buffalo on Wednesday was the first to use one ref following the puck and the other trailing the play, a system the NHL will experiment with for the remainder of the regular season in games involving teams out of playoff contention. ... The Kings have lost an NHL-high 464 man games to injury this season. ... Marty Turco was 12-0-4 in his previous 18 appearance before losing to the Flames 2-1 on Thursday for his first defeat since Dec. 26. ... Teemu Selanne's career-worst goal drought is up to 15 games. ... The Lightning upped their franchise-best unbeaten streak to 10 games Thursday with a 2-2 tie against the Devils. ... Avalanche right wing Dan Hinote has just six goals this season, but three of them have been game-winners. ... The Flyers are 25-2-7-1 when they score first. ... The Blues could have defenseman Chris Pronger and right wing Valeri Bure back in the lineup Saturday afternoon against the Red Wings. ... Thornton needs five points to become the first Bruin to record 100 points since Adam Oates in 1993-94 (112 points). ... The Flames are 8-3-2 in their past 13 games. ... Kings right wing Zigmund Palffy has 45 points over his past 38 games. ... The Stars are 11-2-2-2 against the six Canadian teams this season. ... Nikolai Khabibulin is unbeaten in his past 14 starts (11-0-3). ... The Avs have 39 power-play goals in their past 43 games.

Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for SI.com.

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