Alex Ovechkin beat out first timer John Tavares, and one time winner Sidney Crosby. Ovechkin scored a league high 32 goals this season and played excellent in the later part of the season to lead Washington to the division title and the playoffs.

Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding Player selected by NHLPA):

Sidney Crosby may not have won the Hart Trophy, but he isn’t going home empty handed. The Ted Lindsay award is selected by members of the NHLPA for the Most Outstanding Player. Crosby beat the Lightning’s Martin St. Louis and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin. Crosby scored 56 points in 36 games this season.

Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender):

Sergei Bobrovsky won his first Vezina Trophy this season despite the Columbus Blue Jackets missing the playoffs at the end of the year. Bobrovsky went 21-11-6 with a goals against average of 2.00 and a save percentage of .932%. Bobrovsky beat out veteran stars Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Niemi.

James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenseman):

P.K. Subban won his first Norris Trophy this season playing in 42 games for the Montreal Canadiens and posting 38 points, including 26 powerplay points. Subban averaged 23:15 TOI this season and recorded a +12 rating. Subban’s competition included Penguins defender Kris Letang and Minnesota’s newcomer Ryan Suter (take that Shea Weber).

Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year):

Jonathan Huberdeau was awarded the rookie of the year Calder Memorial Trophy this season playing in 48 games and putting up 31 points for the Florida Panthers. Good things are ahead for the other two finalists as well. Brandon Saad and Brendan Gallagher were nominated, but Huberdeau was able to come away with the hardware.

Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward):

Jonathan Toews lead the league in takeaways for what had to be the entire season. His ability to play so well in his own end is what makes his offensive skill so much more likable. Toews lead the Blackhawks to the number one seed in the Western Conference and the entire NHL. Toews beat out Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk and Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship and Gentleman Award):

Martin St. Louis won his third Lady Byng in the last four years. St. Louis, who in my opinion was snubbed for the Ted Lindsay Award, added another trophy to the shelf playing in 48 games and grabbing 60 points, and only racked up a total of 14 PIMs. St. Louis beat out Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (I just feel like he should never win this award, seriously) and Islanders forward Matt Moulson.

Bridgestone Messier Leadership Award (Leadership On and Off the Ice):

Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators exhibited his leadership abilities this season in pushing a battered team into the playoffs. Ottawa battled injuries all season long, and still made their way in for a decent push into the second round. Alfredsson beat Dustin Brown of the L.A. Kings and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perserverance, Sportsmanship, Dedication to Hockey):

Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis late in 2012 before the lockout had ended. Harding was ready for the start of the season, but missed a bit of time during the year. Harding stepped in for started Nicklas Backstrom and played for the Wild during the playoffs. Harding beat finalists Sidney Crosby and Adam McQuaid.

NHL Foundation Player Award (Commitment, Perseverance and Teamwork to Enrich Community)

Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings won this award for his work in various charities in Detroit and around the world.

King Clancy Memorial Trophy (Leadership and Humanitarian Contribution):

Boston Bruins assistant captain Patrice Bergeron took home the King Clancy this season for his dedication to leadership.

Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year):

Paul MacLean was awarded the Jack Adams Coach of the Year award for his outstanding work with the Ottawa Senators this season. The injury battled Senators kept their season together and pushed into the playoffs and even snuck passed the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. MacLean beat finalists Bruce Boudreau and Joel Quenneville.

General Manager of the Year:

Ray Shero may not be able celebrate the season the way he had hoped after making moves at the deadline to acquire Brenden Morrow, Jussi Jokinen, and Jarome Iginla, but at least he isn’t completely empty handed, right? Marc Bergevin of the Montreal Canadiens and Bob Murray of the Anaheim Ducks were also nominated.

Statistical Awards:

Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy (Most Goals):

Alex Ovechkin

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points):

Martin St. Louis

William Jennings Trophy (Goaltenders with lowest amount of goals against):

Corey Crawford and Ray Emery

For those non-traditional hockey fans that believe fighting doesn’t belong in the game and shouldn’t be allowed, stop reading now because you won’t like my point of view. For the true hockey fans that have either played the game or understand why fighting is still allowed in the sport, read on.

Let’s get one thing straight.  I don’t have a problem with the fact that there was a line brawl or even the two fights that followed before the game expired. What I do have a problem with is the way the Habs players were acting.

Take Rene Bourque for example, cross checking Kyle Turris repeatedly, trying to goat him to a fight.  Neither Turris nor Bourque is known for chucking the knuckles and neither is P.K. Subban who stepped in and took on Turris.  Give credit to the Senators, they held their own in this ruckus. Bourque doesn’t need to skate around and try and intimidate anyone. That’s not his game and to be honest, he’s not that intimidating.

But what if Subban or Bourque had broken a knuckle and was sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs?  How foolish would they look then? Leave the heavy lifting for the sandpaper like players.

Yes, the timeout that Paul MacLean called was bogus and completely disrespectful to both the Candiens and the game of hockey.  But when MacLean addressed the media after and was told that he was called disrespectful from Habs head coach Michel Therrien, it’s easy to agree with the Senators bench boss when he referred to the Canadiens of acting the same way.

Numerous cheap shots and stick work, all in an attempt to pick a fight to try and send a message to the Senators for game four.  Did it work?  We’ll find out tonight and if the Canadiens win game four then you can say that their play that resembled the Broad Street Bullies from the 70′s helped them even up the series.

But one thing the Canadiens need to do tonight is worry about playing hockey and not what happened last game.  Leave that in the past and focus on the scoreboard tonight.

If tonight’s game gets out of hand…..well…..then anything can happen again.

Montreal Canadiens – regular season record 29-14-5. Good for 63 points and the second seed in the east.

The Habs finished dead last in the eastern conference last season and as a result the expectations for this season were to improve and possibly compete for a playoff spot.  No one outside the organization saw the Canadiens winning the Northeast division and now they have home ice advantage for at least the first two rounds.

They’ve played consistent hockey all season long and are scoring by committee.  Their goaltending that was at one point a year ago a cause for concern has been the best it’s been in recent memory.  Carey Price is the clear number one goalie in Montreal despite not convincing all the critics given his year where he posted a 21-13-4 record with a 2.59 GAA and a .905 save percentage.  Decent numbers but not great and he’ll need to be great to help this team make a deep playoff run.

Keys to the Habs success:

Some might say that Price is the key to the Canadiens success in the first round against Ottawa and while he certainly will be an integral part, the more important key is defenseman P.K. Subban.

Subban is playing the best hockey of his young career and he must carry that over into the playoffs. Considered to be a favorite to win the Norris Trophy for top defenseman in the league, Subban excelled after a lengthy contract hold out to score 11 goals and add 27 assists for 38 points in 42 games.  He is the spoke to the Habs wheel and whether it be on the power play or five-on-five, Subban’s play will be critical in defining the Canadiens success in this series.

Ottawa Senators – regular season record 25-17-6. Good for 56 points and seventh place in the east.

Anybody that truly follows the game of hockey knows what type of season the Senators had this year; an injury plagued one.  Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson are three of the team’s most valuable players and all missed an extended period of time this year to serious injury.  Other role players like Milan Michalek also battled to stay healthy and as a result it left a depleted Senators lineup that many thought would crumble from their early season success and miss the playoffs.

But this team defied the odds and here they are playing in the second season.  They are the most dangerous team to pull off an upset this year and here’s the key to their success:

Keys to the Senators success:

Simply put, it falls on one player – Craig Anderson.  He will have to steal a game or two in Montreal in front a rowdy french Canadian crowd that feeds off the success of their hockey team. Anderson and the Sens will have to weather the storm in game one for the first ten minutes and if he can keep it close than I like Ottawa in the opener.

Series Prediction:

I’m taking the Ottawa Senators to upset the Montreal Canadiens in six games in this series.  A healthy Sens group that plays “pesky” hockey is a dangerous bunch already an now throw on the underdog role and this team is a great pick as a sleeper.