Alex The Great repeats as NHL MVP, snags Hart and Pearson trophies for 2nd straight year

It’s Alex The Great _ again

LAS VEGAS — He is Alex The Great — again.

Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin pulled off the kind of repeat the Detroit Red Wings dreamed about by snagging the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP for the second straight year Thursday night.

Ovechkin also walked off with the NHL Players’ Association’s Lester B. Pearson Award, given to the most outstanding player in voting by fellow players.

It made no difference that the awards ceremony was moved to Las Vegas from Toronto to make it a more glitzy spectacle. Ovechkin, the leading goal scorer each of the past two seasons, stood out above the rest.

Pavel Datsyuk couldn’t pull top Ovechkin for the Hart or Pearson awards, but he did pull off a double play for the second consecutive season. Datsyuk, the Red Wings’ outstanding two-way center, claimed the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward and the Lady Byng for gentlemanly play and skill.

Datsyuk, who nearly helped the Red Wings to a second straight Stanley Cup title after returning from injury during the finals, has won the Lady Byng four consecutive years and the Selke twice in a row.