The NHL held their 58th All-Star game yesterday in Raleigh, North Carolina and this years game had a different twist.
Instead of doing Eastern vs. Western Conference or North America vs. the World like the NHL has done in years past the players were chosen via fantasy draft by two captains.
I said I would reserve comment until I watched the game. Well I watched the game yesterday and I still have no idea how I feel about it.
On one hand it was nice to see teammates on both sides of the ice. The Sedin Twins split up for the 1st time that I can recall. You had Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks on one team while teammates Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith & Jonathan Toews were playing against him.
While it was an interesting gimmick to try out the fact is it still was your typical All-Star game. Lots of scoring, little to no defense & goalies constantly getting peppered by shots.
The players seemed to like the method of choosing teams so I would expect the NHL to keep this format for at least next season. But no matter how many ways the league tries to change the way they choose teams the results are going to stay the same.
I'm not saying it is a bad thing it's just that All-Star Game is what it is and that no matter how the NHL tries to dress it up the results are going to be the same.
With The All-Star Game done teams can now focus on their push toward the playoffs. I'll give you my list of teams to keep your eye on in the 2nd half. In the meantime here is the Power Poll for Week 16.
1. Philadelphia 33 12 5 71 points
Face Tampa on Tuesday in a match-up of the two best teams in the Eastern Conference.
2. Vancouver 31 10 9 71 points
Start the 2nd half of the season tonight against Dallas.
3. Tampa Bay 31 15 5 67 points
Steven Stamkos leads the NHL in Goals (37) & points (68)
4. Pittsburgh 31 15 4 66 points
Evgeni Malkin is practicing with the team & should return later this week.
5. Detroit 30 13 6 66 points
Wings are playing well despite the injuries they have dealt with.
6. Dallas 30 15 5 65 points
Looking to avenge 7-1 defeat the last time they played Vancouver.
7. Boston 28 15 7 63 points
Zdeno Chara breaks his record for hardest slapshot (105.9) in skills competition.
8. Washington 27 15 9 63 points
Alex Ovechkin did provide an All-Star moment, just not the way we thought.
9. N.Y. Rangers 29 20 3 61 points
Ryan Callahan returns to the lineup after missing 19 games witha broken hand.
10. Nashville 27 17 6 60 points
Goaltender Pekka rinne named 3rd star of the month with 8 wins, a GAA of 1.71 & a save percentage of .947.
11. Anaheim 28 20 4 60 points
Captain Ryan Getzlaf returns to practice, Looking to return next week against Vancouver.
12. Montreal 27 18 5 59 points
Starts the 2nd part of the season on a four game road trip tonight in Washington.
13. Phoenix 25 17 9 59 points
Keith Yandle is named 2nd star of the month for January (17 points in 14 games)
14. Atlanta 24 19 9 57 points
Dustin Byfuglien made an impact in the All-Star game by scoring a goal.
15. Chicago 26 20 4 56 points
Patrick Sharp (1G, 2A0 named All-Star Game MVP.
16. Colorado 25 19 6 56 points
Matt Duchene attempts, misses 1st Penalty Shot in All-Star history.
17. San Jose 25 19 6 56 points
Patrick Marleau is playing in his 1,000th NHL Game tonight against Phoenix.
18. Carolina 25 19 6 56 points
Eric Staal proved worthy of being named captain at All-Star game in Raleigh.
19. Minnesota 25 19 5 55 points
Andrew Brunette plays in his 1,000th NHL game tonight against Los Angeles.
20. Los Angeles 27 22 1 55 points
Kings quest for a playoff spot starts on a 10 game road trip tonight in Minnesota.
21. Calgary 24 21 6 54 points
Four game win streak puts calgary back in the playoff picture.
22. Columbus 23 21 5 51 points
Rick Nash had a goal & an assist at the All-Star Game. I still think he is the best player no one knows about.
23. St. Louis 22 20 7 51 points
Looking to end four game losing streak tonight against Colorado.
24. Buffalo 23 21 5 51 points
Sabres have to wait until Friday to resume their season against Pittsburgh.
25. Florida 22 22 5 49 points
Panthers dropped five of six games going into the All-Star Break.
26. Toronto 19 25 5 43 points
With the emergence of James Reimer in net could J.S. Giguere be on the move.
27. Ottawa 17 25 8 42 points
Forward Colin Greening set to make NHL debut tonight against New Jersey.
28. Edmonton 15 26 8 38 points
Taylor Hall loses fastest skater at the All-Star skills competition to...
29. N.Y. Islanders 15 27 7 37 points
Michael Grabner with a time of 14.061.
30. New Jersey 16 30 3 35 points
The season from hell resumes tonight against Ottawa.
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