[elaine95]

LAS VEGAS (AP) Taylor Hall doesn’t love public speaking Adidas Mike Hoffman Jersey , and the New Jersey Devils forward’s nervousness grew while the NHL Awards show moved along.But after Hall and the hockey world watched moving tributes to the Humboldt Broncos and the victims of two mass shootings, he was ready to accept the Hart Trophy with the proper perspective.”It’s not all about you,” Hall said. ”It’s not all about winning awards. It’s about enjoying life and doing what you love.”Hall was named the NHL’s most valuable player Wednesday night, becoming the first New Jersey player to win the award after edging Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon in a close vote.The hometown Vegas Golden Knights also went home with four trophies in recognition of their incredible expansion season from a celebratory and occasionally somber evening at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.Hall, who finished sixth in the league with 93 points, beat out fellow first-time Hart finalists MacKinnon and Anze Kopitar of Los Angeles. Hall got 72 first-place votes and 1,264 total points in the voting, while MacKinnon got 60 first-place votes and 1,194 points.Hall likely got the nod over two worthy contenders because of the way he carried the Devils offensively while they rebounded from a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference and reached the playoffs for the first time in five years. Hall put together a 26-game points streak during the season, and he finished with 41 more points than rookie Nico Hischier, New Jersey’s second-leading scorer.”If there is one thing I’m proud of, it’s to be the first Devil to win MVP,” Hall said. ”At the start of the season, people wrote us off. People have wrote me off, and it feels pretty good standing up here now.”Indeed, the award is a sweet validation for Hall, who was traded by Edmonton to New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson just two years ago. The Oilers gave up on the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, but Hall never gave up on reaching his potential.He reached it on the Devils’ top line with Hischier, forming a potent scoring tandem with the Swiss rookie.”I was a good player for a long time, and I feel what really brought me to the next level was being in Jersey Adidas Jonny Brodzinski Jersey , playing with my teammates, drafting Nico No. 1 overall and getting to play with him as a centerman all season long,” Hall said. ”I think probably the biggest reason why I’m up here today is No. 13 (Hischier) on my team, and the trust that (general manager) Ray Shero and (coach) John Hynes have put in me.”While Hall closed the show with the biggest trophy, the Golden Knights were big winners as well.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 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.”It’s been a remarkable season,” Engelland said. ”(We had) a great group of guys. They did a tremendous job putting the group together. For myself, I know there’s a lot of other guys in our locker room that could be here right now in my place. It’s just an honor, and once we look back on the season, it’s pretty special.”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 healthy problems for his young son.The NHL also welcomed the survivors of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash onto the stage late in the show for an emotional tribute. Darcy Haugan, the late coach of the Broncos, was honored with the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.Gallant was an obvious choice over Colorado’s Jared Bednar and Boston’s Bruce Cassidy after he masterminded the most spectacular expansion season in recent sports history. The Golden Knights went 51-24-7 and handily won the Pacific Division before winning 13 postseason games and reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their first playoff campaign.Engelland was honored for his leadership and contributions to society. The veteran defenseman already was a Las Vegas resident when the Golden Knights acquired him, and he emerged as a public face of the team during its inspirational performances in the wake of the shooting.Kopitar was named the NHL’s top defensive forward for the second time in three years after a standout all-around season.Hedman beat out Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty for the Norris after scoring 17 goals and racking up a plus-32 rating in another dominant season for the Lightning.Barzal was the runaway winner of the Calder after scoring 85 points in 82 games for the Islanders in his first full NHL season. The 16th overall pick in the 2015 draft scored 20 points more than any other rookie, racking up 22 goals and 63 assists while centering the Islanders’ second line.A few trophies awarded in Las Vegas carried no suspense because they were earned based on statistical achievements in the regular season.Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin won his seventh Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal-scorer, and Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick won the Jennings Trophy for the second time as the goalie for the team allowing the NHL’s fewest goals.McDavid won his second straight Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top scorer.— RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nothing brings out the best in New York Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss quite like the Carolina Hurricanes — and the barrage of shots they toss his way.The Islanders beat Carolina 2-1 on Sunday night after Greiss made 38 saves in his fifth straight victory against the Hurricanes.“He seems to love this building Adidas Peter Budaj Jersey ,” teammate Anders Lee said. “He’s seen everything, and for him to come in tonight and stand on his head … he’s the main reason we really won tonight.”Lee had a goal and an assist, Ryan Pulock scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period and Josh Bailey had two assists for the Islanders, who have earned points in three straight games. Playing eight of their first 11 games under new coach Barry Trotz on the road, they’ve won two in a row for the first time.“Guys have bought in right from the start, but hesitation at times — maybe being unsure of certain situations, and these last few games here, you start to see that it’s more natural to guys and guys are in the right spots,” Pulock said. “We’re doing a good job of not giving up a lot of grade-A chances and that’s what you’ve got to do to give yourself a shot to win every night.”It also helps to have Greiss facing a team he dominates: He’s stopped 128 of the 130 shots he’s faced in his last three games against Carolina. He earned his first victory since a 2-1 overtime win in the opener here on Oct. 4, and his winning streak against the Hurricanes dates to March 2017.Carolina averages a league-leading 41.5 shots per game — nearly five full shots more than second-place San Jose.“I’ve had a bunch of games, too, where they’ve lit me up,” Greiss quipped.Teuvo Teravainen scored for Carolina while Sebastian Aho matched a pair of club records with an assist — giving him points and assists in all 11 games this season, the longest active streak in the league.The Hurricanes had their two-game winning streak snapped and missed a chance to jump idle Pittsburgh for first place in the Metropolitan Division.He thwarted one of Carolina’s best chances late, stopping a slap shot from Justin Faulk with about seven minutes remaining before Teravainen shot wide of an empty net. Moments later, he turned aside Justin Williams’ close-range shot.“Listen, Greiss is a good goalie, but he’s not a world-beater,” Williams said. “Every goalie in this league is good, and he’s one of them. We just Adidas Matt Read Jersey , for some reason last couple games, we haven’t found a way to get one past him, and we have to.”Petr Mrazek, making his third straight start, finished with 18 saves for the Hurricanes, who lamented some issues on specialty teams. The power play has produced goals in only one of their last six games, and the penalty kill — which yielded the first goal in this one — entered as the NHL’s second-worst, a tenth of a percentage point behind Philadelphia at 67.6 percent.“Yes, we deserve better. Yes, we outshot them, but did we?” Williams said. “They did a great job clearing the front of the net. We didn’t have many second opportunities. Our power play needs to get us a goal. Certainly, when we lose the special-teams battle, it’s an uphill battle most of the game. And power play’s got to find a way to get one for us.”Pulock’s go-ahead goal came with 5:25 left in the second with a turnaround slap shot between the circles off a smooth pass from Lee, who skated along the boards.Lee put New York up 1-0 at 3:13 of the first — and 9 seconds into a hooking minor on Jordan Staal — when he scored on the power play off a pass from Bailey.Aho, who entered tied for fifth in the league with 15 points, matched Ron Francis’ franchise record for the longest point streak to start a season and Eric Staal’s club mark for most consecutive games with an assist at any point during a season.He set up the tying goal 1:16 seconds into the second period, with Teravainen banging in the rebound of Aho’s shot.NOTES: Carolina D Dougie Hamilton rang the left post early in the third. … The Islanders scratched RW Cal Clutterbuck (upper body) and RW Tom Kuhnhackl replaced him in the lineup. … Bailey has points in five straight games, the longest active streak on the team.UP NEXTIslanders: Finish a three-game trip Tuesday night at Pittsburgh.Hurricanes: Wrap up a three-game homestand Tuesday night against Boston.