NEW YORK -- Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers are the three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy. The the NHL awards the trophy annually "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team." It essentially serves as the leagues MVP award. Crosby scored 36 goals and led the league in assists (68) and points (104) to capture his second career Art Ross Trophy and lead the Penguins to their second consecutive division title. He registered points in 60 of the 80 games he played in (75 per cent), including 30 multi-point performances, and never went more than two consecutive games without registering a point. Crosby also reached the 100-point milestone for the fifth time hit 700 career points in his 497th game, the fastest among active players and sixth-fastest in NHL history. The 26-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S., native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the fourth time after winning the award in 2006-07 and finishing as a runner-up in 2009-10 and 2012-13. Getzlaf scored a career-high 31 goals and ranked second in the League with 87 points to lead the Ducks to the top record in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. He posted a 14-game point streak from Nov. 15-Dec. 15 (six goals, 11 assists). Getzlaf also set a career high with seven game-winning goals and recorded a plus-28 defensive rating. The 28-year-old Regina native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the first time. Giroux matched a career high with 28 goals and finished third in the NHL scoring race with 86 points to help the Flyers bounce back from a 3-9-0 start to the season. After being held pointless in his first five games and not scoring a goal until his 16th, Giroux totalled 28 goals and 51 assists in his final 67 games of the season. He also compiled a career-long, nine-game point streak Dec. 11-30, (six goals, 11 assists) and recorded his 100th NHL goal Dec. 19. The 26-year-old Hearst, Ont., native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the first time. The award is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The winner will be announced June 24 during the 2014 NHL Awards in Las Vegas. 11:44ET 01-05-14 BERLIN -- Mario Mandzukics first-half strike was enough for Bayern Munich to grind out a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Mandzukic scored in the 13th minute with a fine volley from Thomas Muellers cross. "We didnt want to play nicely and celebrate football, but rather to get the second Bundesliga win of the season. We succeeded there," Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said. The home side was left to rue a disallowed goal from Alexander Meier before the break, with TV replays showing offside was the wrong call, though the Frankfurt midfielder may have touched the ball with his hand as he headed in Johannes Flums goalward effort. "I thought our time would come, if we didnt concede the second goal. Then we got a goal, at a very good time. It was a regular goal, but the linesman was against it," Frankfurt coach Armin Veh said. Also Saturday, Hoffenheim routed Hamburger SV 5-1 in Hamburg, Wolfsburg beat Schalke 4-0, Leverkusen won 1-0 at Stuttgart, Werder Bremen beat Augsburg 1-0, and Mainz won 2-1 at Freiburg. Borussia Moenchengladbach impressed with a 3-0 win over Hannover in the late game. Max Kruse opened the scoring in the 20th, and Christoph Kramer slid in ahead of two defenders for the second in the 53rd, when Kruses attempted chip rebounded off the post. Filip Daems sealed the result with a penalty in the 66th -- his 12th successful spot-kick from 12 in the Bundesliga. "Im happy, but its over now," Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said. While Bayern equaled its club record of 27 consecutive Bundesliga games without defeat set in 1989, Pep Guardiolas side was fortunate to emerge with the win. Bastian Schweinsteiger did have the chance to seal it in the 89th, but was denied by Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. Then Srdjan Lakic rounded Manuel Neuer at the other end, only for Dante to clear off the line. Meier appeared to be hindered in the area by Jerome Boateng and Dante in injury time, but referee Peter Gagelmann waved away Frankfurts penalty claims. "Boateng pushes him in the back as hes running. Its clearly a penalty," Veh said. Bayern was more in control in the first half, when Mandzukic ensured the club scored for the 39th Bundesliga game in succession. Guardiolas influence could be seen in his sides set-up, with Schweinsteiger dropping very deep to initiatee play and Bayern engaging in a short passing game.dddddddddddd. Arjen Robben came on for Mueller in the 74th and had a goal ruled out for offside shortly afterward in what was another close call. Mario Goetze remained on the bench and will need to wait for his Bundesliga debut for Bayern. "Its never easy after the international break. We only had three days. Still, we created a lot of chances. Im happy and 100 per cent satisfied," Guardiola said. Hamburg conceded an early goal for the second time in as many games when Roberto Firmino put Hoffenheim ahead in the fifth. Rafael van der Vaart equalized from the penalty spot in the 44th but the respite was brief. Kevin Volland put the visitors back in front in the 50th, Anthony Modeste capitalized on an error from Lasse Sobiech to make it 3-1 in the 67th, and he scored again in the 75th thanks to more lax defending, before Roberto Firmino completed the rout with his second in the 78th. "The defensive play was very, very, very bad," Hamburg coach Thorsten Fink said. "That was a textbook example of how not to do it. We dont need to sugarcoat anything, but we still have to look forward and win back the fans trust." Schalke striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar struck the post in the first half, but didnt emerge for the second due to a right knee injury. Robin Knoche scored after a Wolfsburg corner in the 55th, Vieirinha made it 2-0 with a fine strike in the 61st, Naldo scored in the 67th, and Stefan Kutschke completed the scoring in injury time. "After the first goal we just fell apart, so Im not at all happy with the game," Schalke coach Jens Keller said. "Im going to work with the team on Sunday. I cant just ignore it." Stuttgart defender Daniel Schwaabs own goal in the 42nd was enough for former side Leverkusen. "Altogether we werent rewarded for our efforts. Then to lose through such a stupid own goal is of course twice as bitter," Schwaab said. Mehmet Ekici scored in the 22nd as Bremen started the season with two wins for the first time since 2006. "Its still quite clear to us that we have a difficult year ahead of us," said Bremen coach Robin Dutt. Niki Zimling and Nicolai Mueller scored in the 64th and 68th for Mainz at Freiburg, three minutes before Sebastian Freis scored what proved to be just a consolation. Cheap NFL Gear Cheap NFL Jerseys Outlet Stitched Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China ' ' '