Predators’ Rinne is Vezina winner
LAS VEGAS — New Jersey’s Taylor Hall and the hometown Vegas Golden Knights went home with major honors from the NHL Awards.
Hall won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player Wednesday night in the hockey world’s annual postseason awards show.
The high-scoring Devils forward beat out fellow first-time Hart finalists Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado and Anze Kopitar of Los Angeles. Hall got 72 first-place votes and 1,264 total points in the media voting to edge MacKinnon, who got 60 first-place votes and 1,194 points.
Hall became the first New Jersey player to win the NHL’s biggest individual honor after he finished sixth in the league with 93 points.
Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, likely got the nod over two worthy contenders because of the way he carried the Devils offensively while they reached the playoffs for the first time in five years. He scored 41 more points than rookie Nico Hischier, the Devils’ second-leading scorer.
The Golden Knights also took home four awards from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino after their remarkable inaugural season.
Coach Gerard Gallant won the Jack Adams Award, and George McPhee was named the NHL’s general manager of the year in recognition of the Golden Knights’ immediate growth into champions of the Pacific Division and the Western Conference.
High-scoring Knights forward William Karlsson won the Lady Byng Trophy for the player best combining sportsmanship and ability. Defenseman Deryk Engelland also won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award for his actions during his team’s breakthrough season in the wake of the shooting massacre on the Las Vegas Strip shortly before their first game.
Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman won his first Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, while New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal won the Calder Trophy in a landslide as the league’s top rookie.
Nashville’s Pekka Rinne won his first Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie, while Kopitar won his second Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward.
Connor McDavid won the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s most outstanding player in a vote of the players’ union membership, but the Edmonton Oilers star was not a finalist for the Hart, which he won last year.
New Jersey veteran Brian Boyle won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey after putting together an All-Star season in the wake of his cancer diagnosis and health problems for his young son.
Preds player arrested
NASHVILLE — Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson was arrested on a charge of domestic assault involving his girlfriend over the weekend.
Franklin Police Lt. Charles Warner said Wednesday that Watson was arrested Saturday evening. Watson was released from jail on $4,500 bond and is due in court June 28.
According to a Williamson County court affidavit, a Franklin police officer was flagged down by a witness to a possible domestic situation at a gas station. The officer noticed the passenger of a car “trying to back away from being shoved away.” The report said the passenger said “stop” and was trying to cover her face.
Watson told police he and his girlfriend were having an argument and he admitted to pushing her. Officers said they found red marks on the woman’s chest, and she said Watson had caused them.
Police said the witness provided confirmation.
According to the affidavit, domestic assault is considered a Class A misdemeanor.
The Predators said in a statement they “are still gathering facts and it’s not appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”