By Eric McErlain

updated 3:05 a.m. ET Jan. 26, 2008

When Sidney Crosby crashed feet-first into the boards in Pittsburgh last Friday night -- knocking him out of the lineup for 6 to 8 weeks with a high ankle sprain -- the league's leading contender for the Hart Memorial Trophy dropped out of the race both suddenly and violently. What previously had looked like a coronation as the Penguins rose toward the top of the Eastern Conference standings has turned into a wide-open race.

With that, let's take a look at the leading contenders by position:

Forwards
Daniel Alfredsson, Senators: In the last game before the All-Star break, Alfredsson surged to the top of the league-wide scoring race when he tallied a hat trick and four assists in Ottawa's 8-4 win at Tampa Bay. Then again, you'd hardly know it after reading the papers the next day, as most folks seemed more concerned with the Rangers raising Brian Leetch's jersey to the rafters at Madison Square Garden. I don't know, maybe Alfredsson doesn't get his due because he plays on the same team as talents such as Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza, but there shouldn't be any doubt about who really makes the engine run in Ottawa.

Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning: We all laughed at the beginning of his career when former Lightning owner Bill Davidson compared him to Michael Jordan, yet on a night-in, night-out basis, it's hard to deny that Lecavalier has been the best player in the NHL this season. Lecavalier is even more impressive when you consider there isn't enough talent around him to lift Tampa Bay out of the cellar of the worst division in hockey. Can the league MVP really be found on one of the worst teams in hockey? My heart says yes, but I think the writers may very well say no next spring.

Alex Ovechkin, Capitals: And a child shall lead them. In only his third season in the league, Ovechkin looks poised to grab his first Richard Trophy, surging past countryman Ilya Kovalchuk. Ovechkin has led the Capitals' incredible resurgence from the bottom of the standings to the brink of first place in the Southeast Division. He hits, he scores, he plays defense, and he never forgets to praise his teammates or celebrate their success as joyously as his own.

Jarome Iginla, Flames: He plays much the same role in Calgary that Ovechkin does in Washington, only he's been doing it for a lot longer. Iginla continues to score goals without the help of anything resembling a No. 1 center in town.

For those of you who think I'm unfairly excluding Ilya Kovalchuk, I give you one number: -15. Sorry, but MVPs are all-around performers, and while Kovalchuk is as exciting as any player in the world on the offensive side of the puck, he hasn't picked up his defensive game the way Ovechkin has. Maybe next year he will. Then again, maybe not.

Defensemen
Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings: The list on the blue line begins and ends with the humble Swede who leads the breakout, disrupts the enemy attack and seemingly never makes a mistake while logging more ice time per night than any other player in the NHL. Oh, and he's doing it for the best team in hockey. It has been eight years since the last defenseman, Chris Pronger, won the Hart. It might very well be time to end that streak.

Goalies
Roberto Luongo, Canucks: I've been of the opinion that Luongo has been the best goalie in hockey since somewhere near the beginning of his stretch in Florida. Those seasons, he consistently faced more rubber than any other netminder in the game. In Vancouver, the talent in front of him only seems marginally improved, yet his performance hasn't wavered. As long as he's at the top of his game, his name should always be under consideration for the Hart.

Martin Brodeur, Devils: As good as Luongo has been, the discussion of candidates in net can't be complete without a mention of Brodeur. For years, the knock on Brodeur has been the same: Couldn't just about any goalie be successful playing behind a defensive anchored by players such as Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer? Well, Stevens and Niedermayer are long gone -- to say nothing of Ken Daneyko and Brian Rafalski -- but Brodeur is still playing like one of the best ever behind a Devils team I believed was in decline before the start of the season. 2007-08 may be prove to be his finest season ever.

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