The Boston Bruins center, Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier and Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar were named as the three finalists for the award, which is given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.

Patrice Bergeron is a finalist to win his fifth Selke Trophy , which would pass Bob Gainey for the most since the award was first presented in 1978.

The winner will be announced at the 2018 NHL Awards presented by Hulu at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on June 20.

Video: Selke Finalists announced

Bergeron, 32, is a Selke finalist for a record seventh consecutive year, passing Pavel Datsyuk's six-year run from 2008 to 2013. Bergeron was sixth in face-off percentage (57.3 percent, minimum 750 attempts) and won a League-high 58.3 percent (minimum 50 attempts) while shorthanded. He was also first among NHL forwards in SAT percentage, with the Bruins getting 57.56 percent of all shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5.

Couturier, 25, was third in the League with a plus-34 rating, the best by a Flyers player since John LeClair was plus-36 in 1998-99. He was second in total ice time (1,770:31) and third in average ice time per game (21:35). Couturier also averaged 1:53 in shorthanded ice time per game, nearly 50 percent more than the next Flyers forward (Valtteri Filppula, 1:17), and led Philadelphia in puck possession (53.17 percent SAT, minimum 50 games played). The first-time finalist could become the first member of the Flyers to win the award since Dave Poulin in 1987 and the third in their history (Bobby Clarke, 1983).

Kopitar, 30, led NHL forwards in total ice time (1,810:58), an average of 22:05 per game, on a Kings team that led the League at 2.46 goals against per game. He led Kings forwards in shorthanded ice time (2:10 per game), and was third in the League in total face-offs (1,816) and face-off wins (983), setting NHL career highs in each category. Kopitar is a Selke finalist for the fourth time in five seasons. He won the award in 2016, placed second in 2014 and was third in 2015.

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