Florida’s Barkov, Vegas’ Karlsson, Buffalo’s O’Reilly finalists for Lady Byng

NEW YORK — Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, William Karlsson of the Golden Knights and Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly were named the three finalists Friday for the NHL’s Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

The trophy, which will be handed out June 20 during the NHL Awards, is given the player that exhibits the most “sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots at the end of the regular season. The top three vote-getters were designated as finalists.

Barkov posted a career-high 51 assists and 78 points and led the NHL with five short-handed goals, one shy of the franchise record set by Tom Fitzgerald in 1995-96. Barkov played in a career-high 79 games and placed fifth overall with 82 takeaways while receiving only seven minor penalties and 14 penalty minutes — the second-fewest by any player in the top 25 in NHL scoring.

Karlsson ranked third in the NHL with 43 goals to power Vegas to unprecedented success for an expansion team. Karlsson took only six minor penalties, finishing with the fewest penalty minutes (12) among the league’s top 40 scorers.

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O’Reilly posted 24 goals and 37 assists and his 1,274 face-off wins were the most by any player since the league began tracking the statistic in 1997-98. O’Reilly received only one minor penalty — the fewest by any player with at least 41 appearances.

The Canadian Press