PHILADELPHIA — The Lady Byng is starting to become Old Hat for Martin St. Louis.
The Rangers forward was announced as a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy on Tuesday before his team played Game 3 of its first-round playoff series against the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center, the best-of-seven affair tied, 1-1.
The award is given “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” St. Louis has won the award in three of the past four seasons — 2010, 2011 and 2013 — and has been a finalist in eight of the past 10 years.
“It’s an honor to be nominated for any award,” St. Louis said Tuesday morning, hoping to become the first Ranger to win it since Wayne Gretzky in 1999. “I think I’m focusing on something bigger and better right now.”
The Rangers obtained the 38-year-old winger from the Lightning on March 5, in exchange for Blueshirts’ captain Ryan Callahan, along with first- and second-round draft picks. He played in 81 regular-season games combined with the two teams, piling up the third-most ice time among forwards and yet just 10 total penalty minutes, the least among the top-20 goal scorers in the league.
Also nominated were the Sharks’ Patrick Marleau and the Avalanche’s Ryan O’Reilly. The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards ceremony in Las Vegas on June 24.