CHICAGO -- Before Game 2 of what has already been a riveting 2013 Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, the NHL will hand out some very important hardware.
Beginning at 7 p.m. ET (NBCSN, CBC) on Saturday, the winners will be announced for some of the most coveted individual awards in hockey. During the hour-long awards show, recipients will be named for the Hart Memorial Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, Vezina Trophy, James Norris Memorial Trophy and Calder Memorial Trophy.
The main award of the night, the Hart, is awarded to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team. Finalists for the award are previous winners Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, as well as first-time nominee John Tavares of the New York Islanders.
Crosby and Ovechkin, along with Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning, are nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is presented to the NHL's "most outstanding player" and is decided by a vote among members of the National Hockey League Players' Association.
Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers will look to repeat as winner of the Vezina Trophy, awarded annually to the League's best goaltender. He will go against two first-time finalists: Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
There won't be a repeat winner of the Norris Trophy, presented to the League's defenseman. All three Norris finalists this season -- Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins, P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens and Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild -- are first-time nominees.
Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad likely will be focusing mostly on Game 2 Saturday night, but he could add the Calder Trophy to his mantle. Saad, along with Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens and Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers, is nominated for the award, which goes to the League's top rookie.
The League's other individual honors were handed out during Friday's off day prior to Game 2 of the Cup Final.
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