NHL 13 final four set - Giroux, Malkin, Tavares, Rinne

NHL fans have spoken, and in record numbers, as the final four choices to be the cover athlete for EA Sports NHL 13 are set -- Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux, Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, New York Islanders center John Tavares and Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne.

Voting in the semifinals is open now, and runs through May 28, at NHL.com/covervote. One side of the bracket features Malkin against Giroux, while the other semifinal will have fans choosing between Tavares and Rinne.

So far, 19.5 million votes have been cast, more than the 13 million EA received in its Madden NFL 11 cover athlete campaign in 2010, the first year it allowed fans to determine the cover athlete.

Voting on the finals will take place May 29 to June 4. The winner of the vote will be unveiled June 20 at the 2012 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK