Ovechkin, Hasek-Osgood tandem stand tall

Apr 7, 2008 - 1:10 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Alex Ovechkin was one of the main reasons for the turnaround of the Washington Capitals this season. He now has some hardware to prove it.

The leading contender for the Hart Trophy, Ovechkin on Sunday officially claimed both the Art Ross and Maurice Richard Trophies as the NHL's leader in points and goals, respectively.

Ovechkin became the first Russian-born player to win both awards in the same season.

In a season in which the Capitals finished with seven straight victories and wins in 11 of their last 12 games to capture the Southeast Division title, Ovechkin recorded league highs of 65 goals and 112 points.

The 22-year-old All-Star finished 13 tallies ahead of Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk - a former winner of the Richard Trophy - and six points better than Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin in the scoring races.

By doing so, Ovechkin became the sixth player in the past 37 years to lead the NHL in both categories, joining Phil Esposito (1970-71 through 1973-74), Guy Lafleur (1977-78), Wayne Gretzky (1981-82 through 1984-85, 1986-87), Mario Lemieux (1987-88, 1988-89) and Jarome Iginla (2001-02).

The Calder Trophy winner in 2006, Ovechkin set the single-season record for most goals by a left wing, netting the highest total since Lemieux scored 69 in 1995-96.

Also receiving an honor Sunday was Detroit's goaltending duo of Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood, who captured the William Jennings Trophy for helping the Red Wings finish with the fewest amount of goals allowed (184).

A six-time Vezina Trophy winner and two-time Hart recipient, Hasek surrendered 84 goals in 41 games with Detroit this season. Osgood, who appeared in this campaign's All-Star Game, also yielded 84 tallies in 43 contests.

Hasek became a three-time winner of the Jennings Trophy, receiving it twice before with the Buffalo Sabres (1993-94 with Grant Fuhr, alone in 2000-01). Osgood also is a repeat winner, sharing the award with Mike Vernon in 1995-96 while with the Red Wings.