Nhl All Star Game

Bieber, Young Guys Make An Impression

... Montreal Canadiens defenseman. L. A. story: One of the backstories of what is the third All-Star Game in Los Angeles is the evolution of the game in the entertainment mecca and throughout California. A huge crowd at Staples Center for the skills competition certainly let the players know there was only one California team they cared about, lustily booing Ryan Kesler and Cam Fowler of the Anaheim Ducks and Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks , even though this weekend they are all teammates on the Pacific Division squad. Much to the delight of the partisan crowd, Pavelski whiffed on one of the shooting events, and then amid a smattering of boos was denied on a shootout by Canadiens goalie Carey Price near the end of the competition. Burns, immune to booing, did nail a top-corner shot for the Pacific. Still, even the hard-bitten Kings fans couldn't help but cheer when Kesler's son Ryker took ...

From Undrafted Goalie To Nhl All-star

... Minnesota Wild in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group). San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) reacts after losing 2-1 to the Los Angeles Kings in the overtime period of their NHL game at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group). San Jose Sharks goalies Aaron Dell (30) and Martin Jones (31) celebrate their 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in a NHL game at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 30, 2016. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group). San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones (31) takes a break against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period at SAP Center Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Bay Area News Group). San Jose Sharks' Martin Jones (31) makes a save against Calgary Flames' Johnny Gaudreau (13) in the second period of their NHL game at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, December 20, 2016. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group). San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) makes a save against ...

All-star Blackhawks Likely To Stick Together During 3-on-3 Game

... a smile on his face as he surveyed the players gathered on the stage of the Microsoft Theater on Friday night. Several of the NHL 's top 100 players were together on the stage chatting, taking pictures and giving interviews while Boudreau, the coach of the Wild who's heading up the Central Division All-Stars on Sunday, stood off to the side. "I'm glad that in the 2010-17 group I have three players playing for me in the All-Star Game," Boudreau said. "I don't have to go far to think about what that line combination is going to look like.". Boudreau was referring to Patrick Kane , Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith , who, along with goaltender Corey Crawford, will represent the Hawks in the All-Star Game. For the second consecutive year, the league is adopting a three-on-three format for the game, with the divisions squaring off in a four-team tournament to determine the winner. Boudreau's plan of attack to keep Kane, Toews and Keith together on the ice met approval from the three Hawks. "I'm good with that. That's awesome," Kane said. "Knowing those two guys, ...

How The Nhl All-star Game Will Work

... a shift to West vs. East and to playing the game at mid-season. Other years, the teams were Wales vs. Campbell, then the names of the conferences. Later came the North American stars vs. World stars, and teams named after distinguished players, such as the Team Toews vs. Team Foligno game in Columbus in 2015. Alas, Team Toews never got to defend its title because that format was scrapped, too. In Olympic years, there’s no All-Star game. Eager to revive interest in the game — and to capitalize on the excitement generated during three-on-three overtime — the NHL made a radical change at last season’s game in Nashville by switching to a division-based mini-tournament. It was a critical and competitive success and will be repeated Sunday. Players were divided into four teams, based on the division in which they play. Each team will have six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders. The respective captains were determined in fan balloting; the winners were center Connor Mc David of Edmonton ( Pacific Division ), defenseman P. K. Subban of Nashville (Central), goaltender Carey ...

Analyzing Each Divisional Roster

... 19 times and has 25 assists. Seven of Kucherov's goals have come on the power play. While the forwards may lack offensive punch, the defensemen do not. Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators is a fast, free-wheeling skater who can score from anywhere inside the blue line, and Montreal's Shea Weber has a cannon for a slap shot. Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman is also a dangerous player who has seven goals and 31 assists. Subban's Central Division team features Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks up front, along with Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars and Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues. Kane is a remarkable stick-handler who can score or create an opportunity for a teammate because of his quickness and decisiveness with the puck. Toews may be the NHL's premier two-way player because he excels on defense in addition to his ability to make things happen around the net. Tyler Seguin LM Otero/Associated Press. Seguin has had three consecutive seasons with 33 or more goals, and he has ...

Vegas All-star Game Among Commissioner's Topics

... Olympics. Commissioner Bettman said the issue was not on the agenda for the Board of Governors meeting Saturday and received "about 10 seconds of discussion." He told the Governors nothing had changed since their meeting in December and asked if anyone had anything to say or ask. No one did. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the Governors do not want to participate under the current circumstances. "If the status quo remains, I don't expect us to be in the Olympics," Deputy Commissioner Daly said. Deputy Commissioner Daly declined to say what might change their mind. "All I can tell you is if we're going to hear the same thing, I don't think it's going to move the ball," he said. Video: Commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the media. Deputy Commissioner Daly said the NHL plans to release the 2017-18 schedule in June but was not at a point where it needed to force a decision. Asked how long the issue could hang in the balance, Commissioner Bettman said, "I don't know the answer to that. … We're not the ones who are setting deadlines.". The NHL has participated in each Winter Olympics since 1998. The NHL Players' Association has made it clear the players would like ...

Sundin's Truck Stolen, Other Maple Leafs-related All-star Moments

... Iraq’s Saddam Hussein perpetrated the first Gulf War by invading Kuwait. As its troops mobilized, America was looking to let loose with a show of patriotism, but the Super Bowl was a week away, baseball was idle and no basketball games were up. The nationally televised ASG from Chicago Stadium became the perfect theatre. “Up to then, I had not been very political,” Damphousse said. “But it was important to show at that time that terror could not win and that freedom couldn’t be stopped. The league had talked about cancelling the game, but the players wanted to go on, the same way pro sports kept playing after 9/11. It became the most amazing experience.”. The NHL video feed went to all armed forces and the already rabid fans in noisy Chicago Stadium nearly blew the roof off during the anthems. With 18,472 fans yelling their lungs out and madly waving flags, the ‘Madhouse on Madison’ shook to its foundations, the glass at ice level vibrating. “It was always loud in there when the Leafs played, but this was unbelievable,” Damphousse said. “When the singer started their anthem (Wayne Messmer’s booming Star Spangled Banner), the hair stood up every part of ...

Wayne Gretzky Will Coach In Nhl All-star Game

... able to travel to Los Angeles in October for a reunion of that first Kings team, but he and his wife, former figure skater Andra Mc Laughlin, were excited about being here this weekend and getting his first look at Staples Center. “When we started out there we had to go down to Long Beach to play our first home games, so we were on the road a lot and only got into our rink around the first of the year,” Kelly said. “That was the Forum, that Jack Kent Cooke built.”. The Kings and the NHL have taken firm root in Southern California since the team’s tentative early days. “I think Jack Kent Cooke said there were 650,000 Canadians out there and the reason they were out there was because they didn’t like hockey,” he said. “I thought we had some good crowds there and a lot of the stars were there. I grew up playing hockey knee-high to a grasshopper and I thought if the fans would get out to see the game, they would enjoy it and follow it. I wasn’t surprised it caught on ...