The Prairie Puck: NOVEMBER'S PLAYERS OF THE MONTH

Another month has passed us by in the NHL, which means another installment of the monthly awards winners at the PrairiePuck. Rounding out the list, beginning with the league's top forward in November:

TOP FORWARD

ALEXANDER OVECHKIN - Washington Capitals

Simply amazing. AO got off to a rather slow start this season, tallying a disappointing 5 points in October. I think everybody knew though, that his "slump" would not last long, and Ovie would get back on track. In the month of November, Ovechkin tallied 11 goals, and 14 assists, bringing him back on track with the league's best scorers. Although there were solid efforts from forwards Sid Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Simon Gagne, Ovechkin was a no-brainer for Forward of the month.

TOP DEFENSEMAN

ROB BLAKE - San Jose Sharks

With his 39th birthday only 9 days away, one would wonder how Blake can manage to impact a team as much as he does. With 20 points this year (5 goals, 15 assists, 16 points of which came in November), Blake is on pace to tie a career high season, with 68 points to close out the season. Keep in mind, the last time he accomplished this feat, the Montréal Canadiens were Stanley Cup Champs. A veteran presence like Blake on the blueline has clearly been a great fit for the Sharks. With a 20-3-1 record, does anyone doubt us that the Sharks will win the Cup this year?

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GOALTENDER

ROBERTO LUONGO - Vancouver Canucks

The decision to give the top goaltender award to Luongo was a mixed decision, as he only suited up for 8 games, due to a late-month injury. But in those 8 games, Luongo posted a 5-1-2 record, with a .959 save percentage, a 1.25 goals against average, and 3 straight shutouts to round out the month's resumé. Pretty impressive we must say. Henrik Lundqvist and Tim Thomas also had note-worthy performances for the month of November, but Captain Canuck takes the cake.

TOP ROOKIE

Mikhail Grabovski - Toronto Maple Leafs

It pains me, once again to suggest that a Maple Leaf deserves an award on this blog, but the Leafs have been making some pretty good strides in the past month. Among these improvements, was obviously the signing of new GM Brian Burke to a 6-year deal, a trade that saw Alex Steen and Carlo Coliacavo to St. Louis for Lee Stempniak, and the performance of rookie sensation Mikahil Grabovski. Grabovski tallied 8 goals and 5 assists for 13 points in 12 games in November, including a +3 rating to help out his team. 8 of his 9 goals this season were scored in November alone, so we'd say Grabovski is coming into his own. We hate that he's a Leaf, but I guess the tallest of trees still grow from dirt.

WENDEL CLARK ACHIEMENT AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PLAY BY A SK BORN PLAYER

Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim Ducks

This was actually a difficult decision to make, and it really came down to Anaheim's last game of November to make a decision. Before the Ducks' game last night, both Saskatchewan stars Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Marleau had tallied 5 goals and 10 assists each for 15 points a piece in the month of November. Marleau did have an edge with a +5 rating, and a team record 20-3-1 over Getzlaf's +2 rating and team record 14-8-3. Marleau was on a narrow pace to repeating as SK player of the month, but last night's performance, which Getzlaf notched 1 goal and 2 assists, lifts his tally to 6 goals, and 12 assists for 18 points with a +4 rating for the month of November, and some consideration for November's MVP

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER FOR NOVEMBER

It was a very tight race this month for MVP, as there were 21 and 23-point performances from Pittsburgh stars Sid Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, a resurgent Simon Gagne tallied 19 points this month, Ryan Getzlaf's 18-point performance, and of course, Roberto Luongo's stellar play in net, but ultimately, we have to give the MVP award to Alexander Ovechkin, who was a clear-cut winner with 25 points in November. This is the 2nd consective month that a player from the Washington Capitals has won the monthly MVP award (Alexander Semin won the MVP of October)