Monthly Archives: September 2020
NHL reveals 1st, 2nd All-Star teams, All-Rookie team
The NHL announced the first and second All-Star teams, as well as the All-Rookie team, following Monday's awards. The teams were voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.
All six members of the first All-Star team received the honor for the first time in their careers. The only other time that happened was in 1930-31.
First All-Star team:
Position | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
G | Connor Hellebuyck | WPG |
D | John Carlson | WSH |
D | Roman Josi | NSH |
C | Leon Draisaitl | EDM |
LW | Artemi Panarin | NYR |
RW | David Pastrnak | BOS |
Second All-Star team:
Position | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
G | Tuukka Rask | BOS |
D | Victor Hedman | TB |
D | Alex Pietrangelo | STL |
C | Nathan MacKinnon | COL |
LW | Brad Marchand | BOS |
RW | Nikita Kucherov | TB |
All-Rookie team:
Position | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
G | Elvis Merzlikins | CBJ |
D | Cale Makar | COL |
D | Quinn Hughes | VAN |
F | Dominik Kubalik | CHI |
F | Victor Olofsson | BUF |
F | Nick Suzuki | MTL |
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Josi captures Norris Trophy as NHL’s top defenseman
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi won his first Norris Trophy as the league's top blue-liner on Monday.
Josi amassed career highs in goals (16) and points (65) through 69 games this season to earn the award over Washington Capitals rearguard John Carlson and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman.
The 30-year-old is the first Predators player in franchise history to win the award and the first Swiss-born player to capture an individual award.
Josi ranked second among blue-liners in even-strength points (42) and goals (12) while logging the third-most ice time among all players with an average of 25:47 per game.
Nashville locked up its award-winning defenseman to an eight-year, $72.47-million deal last October.
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Draisaitl wins Hart Trophy as NHL’s MVP
The 2019-20 Art Ross Trophy, and Ted Lindsay Award winner will add another piece of hardware to his collection.
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player, the league announced Monday. Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers were the other finalists.
Draisaitl led the league with 110 points and ranked fourth with 43 goals in 71 games this season. Along with fellow superstar Connor McDavid, he helped lead the Oilers to a 37-25-9 record and a berth in the play-in round, though the Chicago Blackhawks upset them to advance to the round of 16.
The German dynamo is the first Oiler to win the Hart since McDavid did so in 2016-17. Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov claimed the honor last season.
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Jets’ Hellebuyck claims Vezina Trophy
Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck was awarded the 2019-20 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie, the league announced Monday.
Hellebuyck edged out Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Here's how the three finalists stacked up statistically:
Stat | Hellebuyck | Vasilevskiy | Rask |
---|---|---|---|
GP | 58 | 52 | 41 |
GAA | 2.57 | 2.56 | 2.12 |
SV% | .922 | .917 | .929 |
GSAA | 22.40 | 12.13 | 22.51 |
SO | 6 | 3 | 5 |
Hellebuyck's season was especially impressive considering Winnipeg's overhaul on defense. Of the club's top-five minutes leaders on the back end in 2018-19, Josh Morrissey was the only returning member this past season.
To put into perspective how bad the Jets were defensively, they ranked 29th in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. In actual goals against per 60 minutes, they ranked 10th, primarily due to Hellebuyck's heroics.
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Draisaitl wins Ted Lindsay Award
Edmonton Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl won the Ted Lindsay Award on Monday as the NHL's Most Outstanding Player, which was voted on by members of the NHLPA.
Draisaitl edged out New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin and Colorado Avalanche pivot Nathan MacKinnon. The three talents are also the finalists for the Hart Trophy.
The 24-year-old phenom also captured the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer with a career-best 110 points in 71 games this season.
Draisaitl was an absolute force in 2019-20. He led the league with 67 assists and was the only player to eclipse the 100-point mark. The 6-foot-3 German recorded nearly as many three-plus-point outings (14) as zero-point games (15) during the regular season.
The award has now been won by an Oilers player in three of the previous four seasons, with co-star Connor McDavid earning the honors in both 2017 and 2018.
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Avs’ Makar edges out Hughes for Calder Trophy
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie, the league announced Monday.
Makar edged out Vancouver Canucks phenom Quinn Hughes and Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik.
The 21-year-old racked up 50 points in 57 games for the Avs while averaging 21 minutes per contest. He was chosen fourth overall at the 2017 NHL Draft.
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NHL podcast: Bissonnette on Khudobin’s run, NHLers showing personality
Welcome to Puck Pursuit, an interview-style podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's national hockey writer.
Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Former NHL forward and current Spittin' Chiclets co-host Paul Bissonnette joins the show to discuss a variety of topics, including:
- Anton Khudobin's incredible run of success for Dallas
- How Bissonnette would fare inside NHL playoff bubble
- NHLers showing more personality now than ever before
- The rise of Spittin' Chiclets podcast, long-term plans
... and more!
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Stanley Cup: Lightning Seek Bounce-Back Effort in Game 2
NHL records no positive COVID-19 tests for 9th straight week
The bubble remains effective, as the NHL did not record a single positive COVID-19 test for the eighth consecutive week since resuming play.
It's the ninth straight week overall for the league without any new cases. Testing began in the week before the return as players began reporting to the hub cities.
During the most recent period, from Sept. 13-19, the NHL conducted 1,127 daily tests on everyone in the teams' 52-member traveling parties, including the players.
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