June 20, 2012 - 8:25 PM
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Patrice Bergeron has been named the year's best defensive forward.
The Bruins centre beat out Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and St. Louis' David Backes to win the Selke Trophy for the first time.
Bergeron is the first Boston player since Steve Kaspar in 1982 to win the honour.
The 26-year-old from Ancienne-Lorette, Que., had 64 points and was a plus-36 with just 20 penalty minutes, 67 blocked shots and 55 takeaways.
He was on the ice for 66 goals for and just 34 goals against at even strength.
Bergeron also dominated at the face-off circle. He took 34.6 per cent of Boston's faceoffs and won 59.3 per cent of them, including 53.5 per cent while short-handed.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012