Eight teams are still alive in the race for the Stanley Cup, but three players are in an individual competition for some hardware of their own.
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Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, New York Islanders captain John Tavares and Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price are all in the running for the Hart Trophy, which is awarded annually to the league's MVP.
Ovechkin is in search of his fourth Hart Trophy while Tavares is hoping for his first award and Price looks to become the first netminder to win the trophy since Jose Theodore did it in 2002.
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Here's a breakdown of why these three players are in the running for the trophy in alphabetical order:
Ovechkin, 29, played in 81 games this season for Washington and won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's highest goal scorer for the third consecutive campaign and fifth time in his career. Ovechkin had an NHL-best 53 goals this season, becoming just the sixth player in history to reach the 50-goal plateau in six different seasons. The Russian finished tied for third in the league with 81 points and set a career-high and Capitals franchise record with a league-leading 25 power play goals while he also had 11 game-winning tallies in 2014-15. This is the fifth time in his career he is up for the award.
Price, 27, led the entire NHL in wins (44), goals-against average (1.96) and save percentage (.933) while ranking tied for second in the league with nine shutouts. Price became the first goaltender since the 1990-91 season to lead the league in all three major categories. He also became the sixth player in Canadiens franchise history to win the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the least amount of goals among netminders who have played at least 25 games. Price's 44 victories is a new franchise record for Montreal, displacing a 42-win season by Jacques Plante in 1955-56. Price, who should obviously win the Vezina Trophy, is up for the award for the first time and is the first backstop since 2011-12 to be a Hart finalist.
Tavares, 24, had a career-year for the Islanders, helping the team get to the playoffs in an 82-game season for the first time since 2007. Tavares set career-highs in points (86) and goals (38), finishing in second and fourth in the NHL in those two categories, respectively. The captain also set an Islanders franchise record with four overtime goal, giving him a franchise-best eight in his career. Tavares is up for the Hart Trophy for the second time in his career, the first coming in 2012-13 when he finished third in the voting.
Final Thoughts: All three of these players are very deserving of the honor, but only one can win it. While Ovechkin had a crazy offensive year and Tavares was the driving force behind the Islanders run to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Price had a ridiculous year in between the pipes and set Canadiens records in the blue paint. Price should be awarded for his tremendous year in the crease.
The Pick: Carey Price.
The NHL Awards take place in Los Vegas on June 24.
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