Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, who backstopped his club’s best regular season in 26 years, won four top honors on Wednesday at the NHL Awards ceremony, including the league’s Most Valuable Player.
The 27-year-old Canadian led the NHL with 44 wins, a 1.96 goals-against average and a 93.3 save percentage, becoming the first goaltender to pace the league in all three categories since Ed Belfour in the 1990-1991 season.
Price also broke the Montreal record for wins in a season, the 42 set by Jacques Plante in 1955-1956 and matched by Ken Dryden in 1961-1962.
Photo: AFP
In addition to the Hart Trophy as MVP, Price won the Vezina Trophy as the top NHL goaltender, the Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding player and the Jennings Trophy as the goaltender for the club who allowed the fewest goals in the season, an award he shared with Chicago’s Corey Crawford after the Canadiens and Chicago each allowed a league-low 189 goals.
No goaltender had ever swept the four awards.
The Canadiens won 50 out of 82 games and finished on 110 points, second in the Eastern Conference and overall NHL season standings with their biggest points run since 1988-1989.
Price had 1,498 points and 139 first-place ballots in Hart voting by a media panel to defeat Russian runner-up Alex Ovechkin of Washington on 888, with John Tavares of the New York Islanders third on 739. Price dominated Vezina voting by team general managers with 144 points to 60 for Finnish runner-up Pekka Rinne of Nashville.
No goaltender had won the Hart MVP award since Montreal’s Jose Theodore in 2002 and Price is only the seventh netminder to do so in NHL history.
Ovechkin was named to his seventh NHL First team All-Star squad, being joined by first-time selections Price, Tavares and Philadelphia right wing Jakub Voracek plus second-time defensive selections Erik Karlsson of Ottawa and P.K. Subban of Montreal.
Calgary’s Bob Hartley won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach, while Czech left wing Jiri Hudler of the Flames won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and skill. They helped the Flames win 45 games and finish on 97 points to claim their first playoff spot since 2009.
In the tightest vote of the night, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron took the Frank Selke Trophy as the top NHL defensive forward for the third time in four years, edging Jonathan Toews of Stanley Cup winners Chicago by 1,083 to 1,051. Bergeron led the NHL in face-offs, face-offs won and face-off win percentage.
Chicago captain Toews received the NHL Leadership Award for service to charity and community.
Tampa Bay’s Steve Yzerman, a former star player with Detroit, won the NHL General Manager of the Year Award after the Lightning’s run to the NHL finals.
In the closest three-way voting fight, Florida’s Aaron Ekblad won the Calder trophy as the NHL’s top rookie by 69 points over Ottawa’s Mark Stone, with Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau third. Canada’s Ekblad, last year’s top draft pick, scored 12 goals and set up 27 others.
The NHL’s All-Rookie Team included Ekblad, Stone, Gaudreau plus Nashville forward Filip Forsberg, St Louis goaltender Jake Allen and Dallas defenseman John Klingberg.
Ottawa’s Karlsson won his second career Norris Trophy as top defenseman. The 2012 winner led all NHL defenders in scoring for the third time in four years.
Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication.
Ovechkin accepted the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the League’s leading goal-scorer after his sixth 50-goal campaign. He had 25 power-play goals and 11 game-winning goals, both league highs and personal bests.
Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn took the Art Ross Trophy as the top NHL man in goals and assists after 35 goals and 52 assists.
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Crusaders yesterday produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 and claim home advantage in next week’s Super Rugby semi-finals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders’ forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. “Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet
Ryan Yarbrough picked up a dazzling World Series ring from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Then he went out and beat them. The New York Yankees starter on Sunday pitched one-run ball over six innings, struck out a season-high five and blanked the Dodgers’ top four hitters in a 7-3 win. “I feel like I’m in a really good place right now and really trying to continue that,” Yarbrough said. “I’m having a lot of fun.” The 33-year-old left-hander made 44 relief appearances between the Dodgers and Blue Jays last season. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on July
Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled on Thursday as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart, Germany, to set up a UEFA Nations League final with Portugal. Yamal bagged a brace, while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons. Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the score sheet for the UEFA Euro 2024 champions. Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal. France’s three late goals — a
RSS