Three First-Timers Named Finalists For Vezina Trophy

[April 26, 2014]  (Reuters) — Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins and Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche were named finalists for the Vezina Trophy, given to the top goalie, the NHL said on Friday.

The three goalies, who were the top three vote-getters on ballots submitted by the general managers of the 30 National Hockey League teams, are all first-time finalists.

Bishop, 27, set multiple franchise records in backstopping the Lightning to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division in his first season as a starter.

Rask, 27, was the only goalie to rank among the NHL's top five in each of the major statistical categories as he helped the Bruins finish first overall for the first time since 1990.

Varlamov, 25, who ranked first in the NHL in shots faced and saves, also led the led the league and set a franchise record with 41 victories.

The award winner will be named June 24 at the NHL awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Ed Osmond)

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