Stanley Cup Playoff Review April 17 2018 Plus Vezina Trophy Finalists Announced

TUESDAY’S RESULTS
The Golden Knights swept the Kings for a historic series victory, while the Jets moved within one victory of making their first-ever appearance in the Second Round. The Capitals, meanwhile, earned a crucial double-overtime win in a rare third-straight overtime contest.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS COMPLETE NHL HISTORY WITH FIRST ROUND SWEEP
Marc-Andre Fleury (31 saves) recorded his second shutout of the series as the Golden Knights became just the third team from the NHL, NBA and MLB to complete a four-game sweep to win their first-ever playoff series – and the first to do so in their inaugural season. Elias notes that the Penguins achieved the feat in 1970 (vs. Oakland Seals), their third season in the NHL, and the MLB’s Boston Braves did so in 1914 (vs. Philadelphia Athletics), their 39th season as a franchise and the 11th in which the MLB crowned a World Series champion.

Aside from the Golden Knights and Penguins, only one other NHL team required fewer than four best-of-seven series to record their first four-game sweep.

Three other NHL teams won a playoff series in their inaugural season, all against other clubs also in their debut campaign.

The first postseason in League history saw the Toronto Arenas win the 1918 NHL Final, a two-game total-goals series, by a 10-7 margin against the Montreal Canadiens before defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association’s Vancouver Millionaires to win the Stanley Cup.

During the 1968 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the first postseason in the expansion era, the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota North Stars earned Game 7 victories against the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings, respectively, to win their Quarterfinals series.

The Golden Knights’ sweep is not only the first of its kind for a professional team in its inaugural season, but also a rare feat for any club in the Stanley Cup Playoffs over the past 10 years. Only 12.5% of series have ended after four games since 2009.

Three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury registered his second straight shutout in a potential series-clinching game, following a 2-0 victory with the Penguins in Game 7 of the 2017 Second Round at WSH. Overall, Fleury stopped 127 of 130 shots in Vegas’ historic sweep.

Fleury earned his 66th career playoff win to move past Dominik Hasek for sole possession of 11th place on the NHL’s all-time list. He also posted his 12th career playoff shutout to tie with Terry Sawchuk for 10th place in Stanley Cup Playoffs history.

Fleury finished the series with a 0.65 goals-against average and .977 save percentage. He is the fifth goaltender in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to win all four games of a playoff series while recording a goals-against average of 0.70 or less. The others: Pekka Rinne (0.70 GAA in 2017 FR w/ NSH), Tony Esposito (0.50 GAA in 1974 SF w/ CHI), Jean-Sebastian Giguere (0.22 GAA in 2003 CF w/ ANA) and Tuukka Rask (0.44 GAA in 2013 CF w/ BOS).

Vegas became the 15th team in NHL history – and second in as many years – to allow three goals against or fewer in a four-game series. Only six teams in the past 39 years have achieved the feat, including the Rinne-led Predators in the 2017 First Round vs. CHI.

Of note, only one team in NHL history has allowed three goals or fewer in a series longer than four games. The Senators allowed only two goals against in a 4-1 series win over the Flyers in the 2002 Conference Quarterfinals.

Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb became just the fourth player in NHL history to score a series-clinching goal against the team he played for in the previous season. Elias notes that McNabb joined Gerry Ehman (1959 SF w/ TOR, vs. BOS), Jean-Francois Sauve (1984 CQF w/ QUE, vs. BUF) and Garry Valk (1999 CSF w/ TOR, vs. PIT).

HELLEBUYCK BLANKS WILD AFTER BEING NAMED VEZINA FINALIST
Fresh off being named the first Vezina Trophy finalist in club history, Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves to guide the Jets to within one victory of reaching the second round for the first time. Hellebuyck became the first goaltender in franchise history to record a playoff shutout.

CAPITALS CUT DEFICIT WITH DOUBLE-OVERTIME WIN
The Capitals and Blue Jackets played past regulation for a third consecutive game as Lars Eller scored at 9:00 of the second overtime to help Washington cut its series deficit to 2-1. This is just the sixth series in NHL history to begin with three straight OT games.

This marks the second straight year that the Capitals have started the postseason with three consecutive overtime games – a first in NHL history. Washington and Toronto matched a single-series an NHL record with five overtime games in the 2017 First Round, including extra time in each of the first three contests.

Overall, this marks the 18th time in NHL history that a series has featured at least three consecutive overtime games at any point. The other five to begin with at least three straight OT games: TOR-BOS in the 1933 Semifinals (Games 1-3), TOR-MTL in the 1951 Stanley Cup Final (Games 1-5), COL-MIN in the 2008 Conference Quarterfinals (Games 1-3), PHX-CHI in the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals (Games 1-5) and TOR-WSH in the 2017 First Round (Games 1-3).

The Capitals, who surrendered leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on Tuesday, have played past regulation in 34% of their postseason games since 2008 (34 of 100 GP), the highest percentage of any team in that span.

John Carlson leads all defensemen and ranks tied for second in playoff scoring with 1-6—7 through three postseason contests after pacing all blueliners with 15-53—68 during the regular season. He is just the seventh blueliner in NHL history to record at least seven points through his team’s first three postseason games and first since Al MacInnis in the 1999 Conference Quarterfinals with the Blues (2-6—8).

HELLEBUYCK, RINNE AND VASILEVSKIY VOTED VEZINA TROPHY FINALISTS

Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning are the three finalists for the 2017-18 Vezina Trophy, awarded “to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position,” the National Hockey League announced today.

The general managers of the NHL’s 31 clubs submitted ballots for the Vezina Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced Wednesday, June 20, during the 2018 NHL Awards™ presented by Hulu at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Following are the finalists for the Vezina Trophy, in alphabetical order:

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Hellebuyck (Commerce, Mich.) shared the League lead with 44 wins to guide the Jets to their best season in team history. In doing so, he shattered the franchise’s record for victories in one campaign, set by Kari Lehtonen in 2006-07 (34 w/ ATL), and also surpassed Tom Barrasso (Boston, Mass.) for the most wins by a U.S.-born goaltender in one NHL season (43 in 1992-93 w/ PIT). Hellebuyck earned 30 of his victories at Bell MTS Place (2.31 GAA, .921 SV%, 4 SO), matching the single-season NHL record for home wins established by Wayne Stephenson in 1975-76 (w/ PHI). He also ranked in the top 10 among goaltenders in games played (t‑1st; 67), shutouts (3rd; 6), goals-against average (8th; 2.36) and save percentage (10th; .924). The 24-year-old Hellebuyck, who set another club record with nine straight wins to close the regular season (March 15 – April 7), is the first Vezina Trophy finalist in Jets/Thrashers history.

Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

Rinne ranked third in the NHL with 42 victories, behind only Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy, to backstop the Predators to their first Presidents’ Trophy as well as franchise records for wins and points. He also shared the League lead and set a club record with eight shutouts while placing in the top 10 among netminders in goals-against average (5th; 2.31) and save percentage (7th; .927). Rinne matched a career high with 11 straight wins from Feb. 19 – March 19, the longest such run by any goaltender in 2017-18. He earned his 300th NHL win Feb. 22, becoming the 34th goaltender in League history to reach the milestone, and posted his 40th victory of the season March 19, becoming the seventh NHL goaltender to achieve the feat three times (also 2011-12 and 2014-15). The 35-year-old Kempele, Finland, native is a Vezina Trophy finalist for the fourth time after finishing second in voting in 2010-11 and 2014-15 and third in 2011-12.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

Vasilevskiy tied Hellebuyck with a League-leading 44 wins and Rinne with an NHL-best eight shutouts to also propel the Lightning to their finest season in club history. He set franchise records in both categories, surpassing Ben Bishop’s 40 victories in 2014-15 and Nikolai Khabibulin’s seven shutouts in 2001-02. Vasilevskiy – who compiled a 2.62 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in 65 appearances – won nine straight games from Oct. 9-30, also eclipsing Khabibulin’s team record of eight straight victories from Feb. 23 – March 6, 2004. The 23-year-old Tyumen, Russia, native became the 12th different goaltender in NHL history to finish a season with at least a share of the League lead in wins prior to his 24th birthday – and first to do so since Carey Price in 2010-11 (w/ MTL). A first-time finalist, Vasilevskiy is aiming to become the first Lightning netminder to capture the Vezina Trophy.

History

Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau and Joe Cattarinich, former owners of the Montreal Canadiens, presented the trophy to the National Hockey League in 1926-27 in memory of Georges Vezina, the outstanding Canadiens goaltender who collapsed during an NHL game on Nov. 28, 1925, and died of tuberculosis a few months later. Until the 1981-82 season, the goaltender(s) of the team allowing the fewest number of goals during the regular season were awarded the Vezina Trophy.

Stanley Cup Schedule for Wednesday Apr 18

Matchup	Time
Pittsburgh@ Philadelphia	7:00 PM ET
Tampa Bay@ New Jersey	7:30 PM ET
Nashville@ Colorado	10:00 PM ET
Anaheim@ San Jose	10:30 PM ET