New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Forwards Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Anze Kopitar from the Los Angeles Kings and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks were named the finalists for the Frank J. Selke trophy as the league's best defensive forward on Thursday.
Bergeron helped the Bruins record the second lowest goals-against in the NHL and lowest in the Eastern Conference at 2.08. He won a league-high 1,015 faceoffs, ranked second in plus-minus with a career-best plus-38 while racking up 30 goals and 32 assists in 80 regular-season contests. The 28-year-old native of Quebec won in 2012 and was runner up to Toews last season.
Kopitar, a Selke finalist for the first time in his career, spent more time on ice over the course of the season than any other forward except Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. His 53.3-percent faceoff success rate on draws and plus-34 rating given his 164-plus minutes logged while his team was shorthanded aided the NHL's top defense and rightfully gained recognition as the first Kings player to gain a Selke nod.
Toews continued to be defensively responsible when logging the most time of any Chicago forward (20:28) per contest, placing second on the club at plus-26 and fifth in the NHL with 884 faceoff wins and overall win percentage (57.2). The 25-year-old Blackhawks captain also recorded his most points (68) since netting 76 in 2010-11.
The Selke will be presented, along with the other NHL awards, in Las Vegas on June 24.
[SportsNetwork.com]
