No. 1 star: Ryan Malone, Pittsburgh Penguins
A complimentary winger on a team that features a number of high-profile stars, Malone was front and center Sunday afternoon in helping the Penguins win a conference championship for the first time in 16 years. Malone, who scored two goals and added an assist during a three-point afternoon, contributed most when the game was still a game, and that wasn't for very long. Malone broke a scoreless tie and collected what counted as the game-winning goal just 2:30 after the opening faceoff when his fifth goal of the playoffs came on a Pittsburgh power play. The shot was more of a fortunate deflection as a Sidney Crosby hard pass caromed off the leg of Malone and past Philadelphia goalie Martin Biron. Malone was a nemesis for Biron a little more than seven minutes later when he and the Flyers' goalie tangled behind the net. Biron seemed more preoccupied with getting an extra shot in on Malone, and he lost his goal stick in the process. Seconds later Biron was slow moving from post-to-post and couldn't prevent Evgeni Malkin's stuff (Malone had the lone assist) for a 2-0 lead 10 seconds before the halfway point of the first period. Game over. Malone, whose father Greg Malone was the team's scouting director when it won back-to-back Cups in the early '90s, scored to make it 4-0 on a mid-second period power play and finished with a team-high seven shots on goal during 18:08 of ice time.

No. 2 star: Marian Hossa, Pittsburgh Penguins
The view is better from here than Atlanta, eh? Acquired at the trade deadline, Hossa continued to make a strong contribution with his goal and three assists for a team-high four points Sunday. Hossa tied Evgeni Malkin for the team lead in postseason goal-scoring with his ninth at 8:24 of the second period, a goal that gave the Penguins a 3-0 lead and for all intents and purposes put the Flyers out of their misery in Game 5. Hossa added assists on Pittsburgh's first, fourth and sixth goals in addition to finishing as a plus-2 during 16:44 of skating.

No. 3 star: Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
The 23-year-old netminder continues to perform in the shadows of the team's high-profile offensive stars, but there's no ignoring his large contributions on a game-by-game basis. On Sunday, Fleury didn't have to be spectacular considering he had early support and lots of it, but he was perfect nonetheless. He stopped all 21 shots the Flyers could muster, and a couple were highlight-reel specials. Fleury is now 12-2 in these playoffs with three shutouts.

Major penalty: For all the energy and emotion displayed three nights earlier during a 4-2 victory in Game 4, the Flyers brought absolutely nothing into Game 5. Philadelphia showed no poise with the puck early on, seemingly willing to give it right away to the Penguins and play chase instead of taking any sort of attack at the Pittsburgh net. The Flyers were tentative, undisciplined, losers in most 1-on-1 battles and uninspired despite the heroic return of defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who appeared for a team-high 21:43 of ice time when it was thought he was lost for the entire series with a blood clot in his ankle.

Minor penalty: The league has to stop its practice of trying to award conference championship trophies at center ice following the final game of the series. It's a pointless, predictable, silly exercise as poor Bill Daly stands there, dressed to the nines, one hand on a glistening piece of hardware only to have the respective winning team's captain just dis him with a forced smile for the camera and a look that says I want to be anywhere but here. How's about this? Award it to the team's leading executive? In Sunday's case, that would be Mario Lemieux. There's no reason for Lemieux to buy into the players' superstition of not wanting to touch the conference trophy. And wouldn't it have been nice to hear a few words from the Hall of Famer? And you'd have the same treat to look forward to with either Steve Yzerman or Brett Hull in the West finals.

Conn Smythe watch (Based on playoff performance to date and likelihood of deep playoff run)

1. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
3. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
4. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
6. Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings
7. Marty Turco, Dallas Stars
8. Brenden Morrow, Dallas Stars
9. Johan Franzen, Detroit Red Wings
10. Ryan Malone, Pittsburgh Penguins

Related: 3 Stars