East meets West in 53rd annual NHL All-Star Game
Sunrise, FL (Sports Network) - East will meet West once again Sunday afternoon when the National Hockey League holds its 53rd annual All-Star Game at the Office Depot Center.
It will mark the first time since 1997 that the format has matched the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference, as the league went to the North America/World theme prior to the 1998 edition. The East won the last three mid-season showcases before '98, including an 11-7 triumph in San Jose in 1997.
The starter in goal for the West in that tilt was future Hall of Famer Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche, and he'll play that same role this time around as well. Roy, who recently appeared in his 1,000th NHL game, will make his 11th All-Star appearance, tying Terry Sawchuk for second place on the all-time list among netminders. Glenn Hall played in 13 games with Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis from 1955 through '69.
Roy's counterpart in net, Tampa Bay's Nikolai Khabibulin, will try to mirror his success from a year ago in Los Angeles. The Bulin Wall entered the game at the start of the third period with his World team trailing 5-3 and proceeded to stop all 20 shots fired his way in the frame. Khabibulin's showing allowed his mates to score five unanswered goals to secure an 8-5 win.
Protecting Roy on the West blueline to start the game will be a couple of mainstays in teammate Rob Blake and two-time defending Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom, who was once again the leading All-Star vote-getter. Bill Guerin and West captain Mike Modano of the NHL-leading Dallas Stars will start at left wing and center, respectively, and San Jose Sharks star Teemu Selanne will man the right side. Both Guerin (2001) and Selanne (1998) are former All- Star Game Most Valuable Players.
In front of Khabibulin for the East will be defensemen Sandis Ozolinsh, now of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Ozolinsh was supposed to represent the hometown Panthers, but was traded to Anaheim on Thursday. Up front, it will be a Penguins reunion as Jaromir Jagr of Washington and Alexei Kovalev of Pittsburgh flank the wings. Jagr was selected to start for the 11th consecutive year, while Kovalev will play in just his second All-Star Game, and first as a starter.
Mario Lemieux was voted in to the game as a starter but will not play (groin). Nor will New York Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch, who has been sidelined with a bruised ankle since December 3.
The Eastern/Wales Conference holds an 18-7-1 advantage over the Western/Campbell in the all-time series.
FIRST-TIMERS
Fourteen players will be making their All-Star Game debut, including Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers. Heatley won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year last season and has built upon his stellar freshman showing. The University of Wisconsin product is tied for 20th in the league in scoring with 49 points (23g, 263a).
Other first-time All-Stars for the East are Zdeno Chara (Ottawa), Olli Jokinen (Florida), Patrick Lalime (Ottawa), Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay), Glen Murray (Boston), Jeff O'Neill (Carolina), Tom Poti (New York Rangers) and Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning).
Highlighting the West first-timers is Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi, who combines with Markus Naslund to form the most potent scoring duo in the league. Bertuzzi, who will celebrate his 28th birthday on Sunday, is tied for third in the league with 28 goals and continues to make his case for title of "best power forward" in the NHL.
Other West selections making All-Star Game debuts are Eric Brewer (Edmonton), Marian Gaborik (Minnesota), Jocelyn Thibault (Chicago) and Marty Turco (Dallas).
KEEP AN EYE ON
-Naslund, Vancouver - The league's goal-scoring leader at the break with 35 goals, Naslund is taking his career to yet another level. Expect him to team with Bertuzzi on an All-Star line early and often, and that could spell disaster for the East. What's the All-Star record for goals, four? If there's any player in this game who can match or break that it's Naslund.
-Gaborik, Minnesota - After Naslund, he's probably the second candidate to challenge four goals. He has as much, if not more, raw talent than anyone playing on Sunday, and has posted the numbers to back that statement up. Gaborik became the youngest player in a decade to score as many as six points in a game (2g, 4a) in a 6-1 victory at Phoenix October 26. He is also just the fourth player in NHL history to record five hat tricks prior to his 21st birthday, joining Wayne Gretzky (12), Jimmy Carson and Dale Hawerchuk (six each).
-Marian Hossa, Ottawa - Only 24 years old, Hossa has leaped from the realm of star to superstar for the bankrupt, but East-leading Ottawa Senators. A well-rounded sniper who can beat you with his speed or strength, Hossa has already eclipsed his previous career high of 32 goals.
-Marty Turco, Dallas - The 27-year-old has shined as Ed Belfour's replacement in Big D, leading the NHL in both goals-against average and save percentage. A first-year starter and first-time All-Star, it will be interesting to see how Turco fares in the no-defense, wide-open environment of All-Star hockey.
MISSING IN ACTION
Lemieux's absence from Sunday's tilt is the most notable, and joining him and Leetch on the sidelines will be Ed Belfour and Mats Sundin of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Belfour will miss the game due to an ailing back, while Sundin has opted to rest a bum shoulder that sidelined him in early January. The duo's absence means that, for the first time since the NHL began holding regular All-Star Games in 1947, there will not be a Maple Leaf in the match.
Montreal's Saku Koivu will not participate because he has a previously scheduled medical exam to attend. The appointment is to monitor his continuing recovery from abdominal cancer.
NOTABLE
East captain Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils will be making his 13th career All-Star Game appearance, the most among this year's participants...When 39-year-old defenseman Al MacInnis of the St. Louis Blues was selected 15th overall in the 1981 Entry Draft, Gaborik, 20, was still some eight months from being born...Ten countries will be represented in Sunday's game -- Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States...In the event of a tie after 60 minutes of regulation time, there will be a five-minute, sudden-death overtime period, followed by a shootout with five shooters for each team. Should the score remain tied, there will be a sudden-death shootout until a decision is reached.
02/02 10:17:30 ET
AI
