Details for Sunday's 63rd NHL All-Star Game
January 28, 2018 at 2:45AM
2:30 p.m. Sunday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. (Ch. 11)
Format
It's a 3-on-3 tournament with each of the league's four divisions represented by 11 players (six forwards, three defensemen, two goaltenders). Team Atlantic will play Team Metropolitan in the first 20-minute semifinal, followed by Team Central vs. Team Pacific. The winners advance to the championship for a $1 million prize.
Wild representative
Eric Staal, center: This will be Staal's fifth All-Star Game and his first as a member of the Wild. His last appearance was in 2011. He was the MVP of the 2008 game when he was with the Carolina Hurricanes. He leads the Wild this season in goals (20) and points (43).
Minn. connections
Blake Wheeler, F, Winnipeg: First-time All-Star at age 31. The Jets captain has 14 goals and 40 assists in 50 games. He is the eighth former Gophers player to be named an NHL All-Star.
Brock Boeser, F, Vancouver: The 20-year-old Burnsville native is the only rookie All-Star this season and the first Canucks rookie All-Star in 47 years. He leads all rookies in goals (24).
Brent Burns, D, San Jose: The former Wild defenseman is an All-Star for the fourth straight year and for the fifth time in his career. He leads the Sharks in scoring with 41 points (seven goals, 34 assists).
Did you know?
• The Tampa Bay Lightning, celebrating its 25th season, is hosting its first All-Star Game since 1999. Wayne Gretzky made the last of his 18 All-Star appearances that year and had a goal and two assists to capture MVP honors.
• The Lightning will be represented by a league-leading four players.
• This is the third year of the 3-on-3 format. Team Pacific won the tournament in 2016 and Team Metropolitan won in 2017.
• 12 first-time All-Stars.
• The Winnipeg Jets are the only Canadian team with more than one All-Star.
Central roster
Forwards
Patrick Kane, Chicago
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado
Brayden Schenn, St. Louis
Tyler Seguin, Dallas
Eric Staal, Wild
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg
Defensemen
John Klingberg, Dallas
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis
P.K. Subban (C), Nashville
Goaltenders
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg
Pekka Rinne, Nashville
Coach
Peter Laviolette, Nashville.
Pacific roster
Forwards
Brock Boeser, Vancouver
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles
Connor McDavid (C), Edmonton
James Neal, Vegas
Rickard Rakell, Anaheim
Defensemen
Brent Burns, San Jose
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona
Goaltenders
Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles
Coach
Gerard Gallant, Vegas
Atlantic roster
Forwards
Aleksander Barkov, Florida
Jack Eichel, Buffalo
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay
Brad Marchand, Boston
Auston Matthews, Toronto
Steven Stamkos (C), Tampa Bay
Defensemen
Mike Green, Detroit
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa
Goaltenders
Carey Price, Montreal
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay
Coach
Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay.
Metropolitan roster
Forwards
Josh Bailey, N.Y. Islanders
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia
Taylor Hall, New Jersey
Alex Ovechkin (C), Washington
John Tavares, N.Y. Islanders
Defensemen
Noah Hanifin, Carolina
Seth Jones, Columbus
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh
Goaltenders
Braden Holtby, Washington
Henrik Lundqvist, N.Y. Rangers
Coach
Barry Trotz, Washington
about the writer
Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to be out four to six weeks, an injury that pauses the Washington Capitals superstar captain’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record.
