Tag Archives: Sidney Crosby

Fancy Stats, G Money, NHL, Stanley Cup Playoffs

SCF 2016 Game 1 – SJ at PIT – Detailed Statistical Breakdown

Game Notes PIT vs S.J

San Jose Sharks (Head Coach: Peter DeBoer) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Head Coach: Mike Sullivan)

NHL Playoff Game #411, CONSOL Energy Center, 2016-05-30 06:00:00PM (GMT -0600)

Penguins 3-2

Referees: Wes McCauley, Dan O’Rourke, Dan O’Halloran
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Derek Amell, Jonny Murray

Three Stars: Nick Bonino; Conor Sheary; Patrick Marleau

  • Welcome!  This is the “OilersNerdAlert” format statistical breakdown for this game.  Beer League Heroes will be publishing these state of the art analyses for each of the Final games.
  • This was an exciting game. Hope they’re all this intense!
  • The Sharks are my designated #2 team, since I have family and friends down in Silicon Valley, so … boo. Also the game information below is from the Sharks point of view.  If you’re a Penguins fan and want to see the breakdown from a PIT point of view, please comment and we’ll be happy to add a second gamepage.
  • The score ended up being (and following) the gameflows pretty much exactly – which happens less often than you’d think!
  • My man BLH is choked that Justin Schultz isn’t wearing #19, so he could make up a half and half jersey shirt. Even as a Penguin, Jultz frustrates Oiler fans!

Grab a 16-bit tee and help keep the BLH ship afloat! We’ve got all the big names playing in the Cup Final! Burns, Malkin, Kessel, Pavelski, etc! Click the pics above or right HERE to go and get yours today!

Game at a Glance

http://i.imgur.com/h7cr0Fu.png
http://i.imgur.com/FzkX60r.png

Leaderboard

  • Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl each had 1 goal
  • Logan Couture blasted 4 shots on goal
  • Brent Burns was most active on the team with 13 shot attempts
  • Tomas Hertl was the faceoff champ at 100.0% (1-0) … um, yeah, but …
  • Tomas Hertl led the team in on-ice 5v5 shot attempts at 60.0% (24-16)
  • Joel Ward trailed the team in 5v5 on-ice shot attempts at 20.0% (3-12)
  • Dainius Zubrus was the big hitter with 6

Goal Overview

Team Period Time Strength ShotType ShotDist Danger
PIT 1 12:46 EV Wrist 10.0 2.53
PIT 1 13:48 EV Wrist 18.0 1.81
S.J 2 3:02 PP Wrist 11.0 2.44
S.J 2 18:12 EV Backhand 8.0 2.34
PIT 3 17:27 EV Wrist 13.0 2.26

Who Won the 5v5 Shot Battle?

Which Battle Who Won By How Much
Shots PIT 36 to 24 (60.0%)
Average Shot Distance Against (ft) PIT 32 to 34
Corsi PIT 56 to 52 (51.9%)
Score & Venue Adjusted Corsi PIT 56 to 52 (52.2%)
Fenwick PIT 43 to 33 (56.6%)
Dangerous Fenwick PIT 49 to 28 (63.2%)

http://i.imgur.com/j3rdRtu.png
http://i.imgur.com/hFcAwUV.png

Detailed Metrics

Shot Metrics
Strength CF CA CF% SACF SACA SACF% FF FA FF% DFF DFA DFF%
EV 52 56 48.1 51.7 56.5 47.8 33 43 43.4 28.4 48.8 36.8
All 58 67 46.4 57.4 67.2 46.1 37 52 41.6 33.5 58.1 36.6
Other Metrics
Team PP PPG PIM FO Hits Giveaways Takeaways
Penguins 3 0 6 53.2 36 10 10
Sharks 2 1 8 46.8 36 8 4

How the Players Did (On Ice Shot Attempts)

New chart! Shows how the players did directly comparing raw Corsi with DangerousFenwick. Look for big discrepenacies one way or the other.

http://i.imgur.com/U5TZLbJ.png

http://i.imgur.com/shPtb30.png

Danger Tables

Forwards are sorted by decreasing CF%. Defensemen and pairs sorted by increasing DFA60. Forward lines by decreasing DFF%. Positions are as listed by the NHL roster page, not necessarily where they played.

Centres
Centre EVTOI OZS%2 CF CA CF% SACF% FF% DFF%
T. Hertl 15:56 46.7 24 16 60 60 59.3 48.7
J. Thornton 15:36 50.0 23 17 57.5 57.6 57.7 47.7
J. Pavelski 16:11 50.0 23 19 54.8 54.9 55.6 46.8
L. Couture 13:05 33.3 14 13 51.9 51.4 40 51.5
P. Marleau 13:37 37.5 13 15 46.4 45.9 35 44.1
N. Spaling 09:21 40.0 10 12 45.5 44.6 43.8 36.7
T. Wingels 09:19 40.0 10 12 45.5 44.5 40 32.7
D. Zubrus 08:41 50.0 9 12 42.9 42.6 46.7 38.4
M. Karlsson 12:34 28.6 6 13 31.6 30.7 23.1 16.5
C. Tierney 12:03 33.3 5 14 26.3 25.8 20 9
Wingers
Winger EVTOI OZS%2 CF CA CF% SACF% FF% DFF%
J. Donskoi 13:24 33.3 16 13 55.2 54.4 45.5 56.9
J. Ward 11:07 33.3 3 12 20 19.9 16.7 2.9
Defensemen
Defense EVTOI OZS%2 CF CA CF% SACF% FF% DFF% DFA60
R. Polak 14:24 85.7 14 15 48.3 47.6 38.9 31.2 25.83
B. Dillon 15:33 77.8 15 15 50 49.4 29.4 19.5 30.87
M. Vlasic 17:17 20.0 14 17 45.2 45 39.1 28.4 59.71
B. Burns 17:11 38.9 23 21 52.3 51.9 54.5 51.5 63.9
P. Martin 19:52 35.3 26 24 52 51.7 51.4 43.8 76.41
J. Braun 15:58 0.0 12 20 37.5 37.6 33.3 21.2 84.55
Defense Pairings
Pair EVTOI DFA60 AvgDistA CF CA CF% SACF% FF% DFF%
B. Dillon R. Polak 12:24 26.13 45.3 11 13 45.8 44.8 33.3 26.3
P. Martin B. Burns 15:59 67.19 26.5 20 20 50 49.5 51.7 47.6
M. Vlasic J. Braun 13:02 77.34 35 7 16 30.4 30.3 23.5 13.5
Forward Lines
Line EVTOI CF CA CF% SACF% FF% DFF%
J. Pavelski J. Thornton T. Hertl 14:17 23 14 62.2 62.2 60 48.2
P. Marleau J. Donskoi L. Couture 11:23 12 11 52.2 51.7 37.5 46.1
D. Zubrus N. Spaling T. Wingels 06:22 8 8 50 49.5 50 37.1
J. Ward C. Tierney M. Karlsson 10:04 2 11 15.4 15 10 1.3

Game Flows



http://i.imgur.com/iuIl6E3.png

Rink Maps

Defense Pairings – Shots Given Up

http://i.imgur.com/JF31KsK.png

http://i.imgur.com/6OXPdxu.png

Forward Lines – Shots Taken

http://i.imgur.com/Rn1QS9F.png
http://i.imgur.com/32v442K.png

Head to Head

http://i.imgur.com/L3NnbbK.png
http://i.imgur.com/9Rhu5la.png

http://i.imgur.com/Hn3ELCv.png

NHL Media Highlights

Click the link to play the associated highlight video

Marleau ties game with wraparound
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/9fef632e-275a-43b4-9d60-a8ff41735cf2/1464659940434/asset_1200k.mp4?_=1
Jones’ back-to-back saves
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/32dfa5f0-137e-4fa3-97f8-4905d08e981d/1464659808472/asset_1200k.mp4?_=2
Hertl’s power-play tally
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/3440625e-089f-4146-a96b-2779def1e742/1464658078369/asset_1200k.mp4?_=3
Jones’ early save
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/bab55461-495d-4a25-8ed8-21a991c4139b/1464658457595/asset_1200k.mp4?_=4
Rust opens the scoring
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/97c478b8-9075-4ad8-8add-c43a8091f38f/1464657328539/asset_1200k.mp4?_=5
Jones denies Hornqvist, Crosby
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/a8be2188-d561-4b84-856c-fdfd09f04daa/1464662491290/asset_1200k.mp4?_=6
Bonino’s late go-ahead goal
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/fd3439e0-dec3-4123-b2df-bea8275d86c8/1464663171007/asset_1200k.mp4?_=7
Penguins strike twice in 1st
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/d37cd63c-2341-45fa-bf79-f747fcddda28/1464659095279/asset_1200k.mp4?_=8
Jones’ stellar toe save
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/a11e956a-7070-4691-9416-aa43bacac15e/1464658985445/asset_1200k.mp4?_=9
Murray’s big blocker save
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/4d1286e3-9f8b-45ea-b72b-62ce8fe3b9ba/1464658428102/asset_1200k.mp4?_=10
Murray’s shoulder save
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/82fa25e0-59ff-4fbf-afda-4b7bf655a9c4/1464662786976/asset_1200k.mp4?_=11
Murray stops Hertl in front
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/36f19509-e250-4619-a0ea-e926f58b4a25/1464662164910/asset_1200k.mp4?_=12
Sheary’s perfect shot
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/f4152c47-779e-4e65-866e-524c4c52a513/1464657683004/asset_1200k.mp4?_=13
Jones’ tip-in save
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/d986a58d-b061-46d0-9658-7aee1ec39187/1464658702183/asset_1200k.mp4?_=14
Jones robs Hornqvist
https://md-akc.med.nhl.com/mp4/nhl/2016/05/31/c5cc41a1-fa94-4368-a26b-012a2a1571ec/1464662601515/asset_1200k.mp4?_=15
Edmonton Oilers, Kosmic Burrito, NHL

Kosmic’s Introduction to BLH/2016 World Cup of Hockey Team Canada Roster Prediction

February 28th, 2016 Somewhere in the Universe (OK, just outside of Toronto)

So here we are…February 28th…NHL Trade Deadline Eve. Many GM’s suffering from what surely feels like cauliflower ear after working the phones for hours. Breath stinking with coffee, a side effect from not sleeping, or “conducting business” as they tell their families…

Whoa hold up dude! I am so sorry! Let me back this up. I was born in Canada, where are my manners?

Hello Beer League Heroes universe, my name is…well…just call me Kosmic Burrito. I’m going to be your bushy bearded, burrito loving blogger, bringing you some spaced out Oilers sports reports. Before I go any further, I want to say a huge thank you to the staff here at Beer League Heroes for giving me the opportunity to connect with their wonderful audience and fans. It is an absolute honour to be working as a part of this team. Might I add, that now being behind the scenes, holy f%8k these guys bust their asses off! Like come on, we all knew how hard they work for us fans, but…. No you didn’t! Trust me! I have a whole new level of appreciation for them, and I am more than stoked to be working with this great team.

3, 2, 1…Blast off…

Could Taylor Hall really make Team Canada for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey this summer?

Welcome aboard ladies and gentlemen, I’m glad to be taking this trip with you…I know, I know…It’s NHL trade deadline eve! But that’s not what I’m going to write about. We have a lot of fantastic authors taking care of all your fiendish trade needs. Do you know what’s going down this summer? It’s the return of the World Cup of Hockey…yes, and it just so happens to be taking place in my neck of the woods, Toronto. Yes that’s right, Kosmic Burrito is digging for Oil in Leafs Nation, haha!

What version of Team Canada do you think we’ll see in September at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey? Will it be an offensive dynamo led by Sidney Crosby and John Tavares? Or will it be just like the defensive juggernaut that we saw in 2014 with Jonathon Toews? Speaking of which, who will be El Capitano? Toews or Crosby? Do you strip 2010’s Golden Boy of the “C” and pass it over to 3 time Stanley Cup champion, Captain Serious? That’s a huge decision, and I’m kind of glad that I don’t have to make it. Also, if Subban makes the team, will he actually see ice this time? Sorry not sorry Habs fans, I had to! And please, for the love of Pete!!! Give us a healthy Stamkos!

Since we already know that Mike Babcock will be returning as head coach, and with the official roster announcement coming on March 2nd, let’s take a look at some players that may be included on the roster. Some will be guaranteed locks (Crosby, Toews, etc), and some will have a potential roster spot (Eberle, Getzlaf, etc).

I’ll start with the goaltenders, since there really isn’t as much debate there.

Possible Goaltenders: Carey Price, Braden Holtby, Roberto Luongo, Corey Crawford, and Marc Andre-Fleury

Personally, I see them going with: Price, Holtby, and Luongo (in that order). With the year that Holtby is having, he almost deserves the shot over Price. Honestly though, congrats Braden, you’re having a helluva season! I added Luongo in there for some mentorship, and veteran presence. But really, this is Price’s job too lose. Especially with his 2014 Olympic performance still freshly lingering.

Moving on to the Defense, we’ll start with the left side. Because let’s face it, you know Babcock loves a balanced “lefty/righty” lineup. You can’t knock the job his defense did in 2014, it was historic. So he’ll definitely run the same type of game plan, I am sure.

Possible LHD: Duncan Keith, T.J. Brodie, Marc-Eduard Vlasic, Dan Hamhuis, Mark Giordano and Jay Bouwmeester

Possible RHD: Drew Doughty, P.K. Subban, Brent Seabrook, Shea Weber, Alex Pietrangelo, Brent Burns, and Kris Letang

The Defense always seems to drum up just as much debate among Canadians, as which forwards were omitted. So take my prediction with a grain of salt haha! I think that the pairings could look something like this:

Keith – Weber
Giordano – Doughty
Vlasic – Burns
Extra Skater: Letang

Now the forwards…..the forwards….WE HAVE SO MANY AWESOME FORWARDS!!!!!! I remember growing up, my Dad would always tell me:

“Son, Canada is so good, we could dress 3 teams and win all 3 medals!!” – Papa Burrito

I’d like to think that the rest of the world is catching up though. But on with the forwards!!! I’m not going to break it down by positional possibilities, because there will most definitely be a few guys playing out of their natural position. But I will make my predictions for possible line combinations.

Possible Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Taylor Hall, Ryan Johansen, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Tavares, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Claude Giroux, Matt Duchene, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter, Ryan O’Reilly, Jordan Eberle, Joe Thornton, and Logan Couture

Again, just like my defensive prediction, take this with a grain of salt as. But here is what I think the forward lines just might look like:

Hall – Crosby – Stamkos
Benn – Seguin – Johansen
Carter – Toews – Bergeron
Duchene – Tavares – Giroux
Extra Skater: O’Reilly

I’d like to think that this possible roster boasts a combination of size, speed, grit, and skill. It does have the Babcock trademark balance of left and right shot defensemen, and I’m not sure if you could find a better trio of goalies. All in all, I don’t know about you, but I am really excited to see the return of the World Cup.

Again, the great thing about being fans, is that we can debate the rosters all day. But it’s anyone’s guess until they make the announcement on March 2nd. I do know one thing though…it sure would have been nice to see McDavid’s name on there, possibly lining up with Sid and Serious…

Speaking of which, stay tuned for my 2016 World Cup of Hockey Team North America Under 23 team report.

Thanks for tripping with me, I’m going to look forward to your feedback!

Follow me on the Twitter @kosmicburrito

Edmonton Oilers, Kris Hansen

BLH Edmonton Oilers Weekly Recap Dec 27th-Jan 2nd

– photo by Andy Devlin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club

Tough week for the Edmonton Oilers as they finish 1-3-0, against Pacific Division rivals no less.

That’s a tough pill to swallow. They blew a two goal lead, twice, against Calgary. Goaltending sank the team against Los Angeles. Anaheim was just better.

The victory against Arizona ended a four game skid, which is good. It was an entertaining game yesterday and I thought the Oilers played well enough.

The upcoming week there are only two games on the dock, as they continue their six game homestead.

Edmonton Oilers Three Stars.

3. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: Finally making an appearance on the three stars of the week, the second line has finally stopped sleep walking through games. Nugent-Hopkins looked like one of the best forwards in yesterday’s tilt against Arizona. This week, Nuge posted four points, all assists in four games. It’s a quiet, but solid showing from 93, who has been struggling this year.

2. Jordan Eberle: Like 93, he showed up this week. Eberle posted five points in four games, including three goals. Two of those goals were nifty ones against Arizona. Yesterday, he also registered his 300th point of his career. Eberle has taken a lot of flak these last couple weeks due to lack of production, but it’s good to see him starting to turn it around now.

1. Benoit Pouliot: To be fair, it was a toss up between Eberle and Pouliot as they posted the same box numbers and Eberle did reach a milestone yesterday. That said, I like Pouliot’s game. He plays aggressively on the forecheck, sometimes too aggressive as he did have two penalties in the offensive zone yesterday against Arizona. The goal that stands out for me was his second against Calgary: he losses his helmet, but that doesn’t faze him one bit as he goes to his spot in the slot and scores. He brings a grittier element to his line.

Edmonton Oilers News and Rumors

Connor McDavid and Nail Yakupov both skated with the team on Friday.  This is obviously great news: McDavid would be a tremendous boost to the team. Sure, he’s not playing Defence and can’t bring stability to the crease, but he’s such a special talent that I don’t think we can really grasp just how good he is. Based on some short clip (I know great sample size) he seems to be shooting, stick handle and pass the puck just fine. He keeps saying to the media that he’s feeling better. I think he plays before the All Star Break.

I wrote about an interesting part of Lowetide’s blog regarding a Mayor’s Manor tweet: The Oilers are interested in the services of Mike Richards.  Some people will say that it’s to replace Nugent-Hopkins but that’s foolish: Richards is a shell of his former self and would be strictly a bottom six role. I think he would be more effective than Lander save for faceoffs.

Earlier this week, The Edmonton Oilers acquired Zack Kassian from the Montreal Canadiens for Ben Scrivens.  Last night was Kassian’s debut in Bakersfield where he posted no points, a +1, four shots on goal and four minutes in penalties.

 

Around the League

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/683690926666084352

That’s some big news. I’ve been saying Free Drouin for awhile and I don’t think he’s getting a fair shake in Tampa Bay. I also don’t think the Oilers make sense as a fit either.

I wonder when he’ll get dealt.

Toronto Media can’t get over the McDavid lottery. 

The Canadiens thumped the Bruins in the 2016 Winter Classic. I personally love outdoor games.

John Scott, NHL All Star Captain.

Rob Martell refereed his 1000th and final NHL game.

The Florida Panthers have won 8 in a row!  

Crosby is on a point streak. 

Highlights

The Coyotes Oilers Game

Dougie Hamilton had a spill into the bench

 

Shane Doan broke the franchise record for goals with the Arizona Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets

 

The Alumni Game Shootout

 

 

The Week Ahead

Only two games for the Edmonton Oilers: Monday they host the Carolina Hurricanes and Friday they host the Tampa Bay Lightning.

That’s the week that was, follow me on Twitter and have a good one!

 

Beer League Hero

BLH Post Gamer G23 Oilers VS Penguins: #AndersTheGiant

Taylor Hall was on point again versus the Pens. Photo courtesy of Joe Sargent.

From an entertainment standpoint, this was a really fun game to watch. Both teams combined for a grand total of seventy-seven shots! I told you guys yesterday that the Oilers had to be careful with Evgeni Malkin right? Did the Oilers listen? They did not and because of that they allowed a two goal lead on the road evaporate into nothing care of Evgeni Malkin’s two goals, the guy had 11 shots in total for the night! Lucky for them Justin Schultz was back… Err I mean Anders Nilsson was on top of his game.

  • So Jordan Eberle started the game on the third line with Letestu and Hendricks eh? I can only imagine what Coach McLellan had to say to both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ebs after the Detroit game… I’d say by the looks of both their games in Pittsburgh that the only one that took it to heart was Nuge. Eberle looked flat and not a lot of puck luck was going his way. He finished the game with 1 shot… For a guy that has lead the team in scoring the last few seasons, he’s not doing himself any favors right now. Shoulder still bugging him? Looked pretty good on the shootout winner…
  • Ninja Nuge on the other hand had a couple of very RNH-like rushes up the ice that made you wonder where those have been for the last 10 games. He had an apple, three hits and was 54% on the faceoff dot! That’s better!
  • Great to see Draisaitl and Hall get back on the board tonight! I give most of the credit to the Penguins defence and lack of back checking forwards on that goal though. They were damn near on top of their goalie when Purcell passed the puck over to Hall and then allowed him to walk through all of them to get another chance to which Neon Leon buried the rebound of.

  • It’s good to see the bottom sixers finally putting some points up on the board. Pakarinen’s brace versus the Red Wings was tight and Korpikoski’s PP tip-in off of Sekera’s point shot versus the pens is something the Oilers have been begging for for sometime now.
  • Jujhar Khaira made his Oilers debut tonight. Not a whole lot happened for him tonight apart from a very nice open ice check and a tidy interception that nearly led to a goal. He was also the Oilers best player in CF% and SF%.
  • Paka had five hits on the pens to boot. So he’s starting to gain a bit more confidence as the season continues.

    Thanksgiving SALE is still going on! Everything is up to 30% off! Click the pic and go there now!

  • Speaking of Scandinavians, Oscar Klefbom nearly had a penalty shot  after stripping Sidney Crosby of the puck in overtime and he lead the team in TOI with over 25 minutes!
  • Justin Schultz did actually play tonight and it’s probably a good thing that he wasn’t apparent in the highlights as it’s usually not the kind of play we’d like to re-watch. But nearly 18 minutes in his return and no bad miscues is acceptable. Now let’s see if he can start ramping up that play and doing something to increase his trade value. Or are we at that point where if we trade him he’ll turn into another Jeff Petry or Tom Gilbert or Eric Brewer or any other good defenseman the Oilers have had only to trade him off to another team right before he peaks.
  • Benoit Pouliot shouldn’t be tasked with taking his own penalty shots anymore… What a wasteful opportunity it was. Kudos for McLellan for showing faith in the veteran but I’d have been more than ok if someone with more pedigree on breakaways was asked to shoot.
  • The Oilers were out of the NHL’s basement for a short time but Colorado won their game… Boo! Another win versus the Leafs tomorrow should see them crawl out of last place though. But the Leafs are a tough bunch these days and you can be sure the Oilers won’t be seeing Jonathan Bernier in that one.

I’m going to leave you with Evgeni Malkin’s goal of the year candidate. Revel in this beauty and try not to pick on Mark Fayne too much for being giffed here. Malkin is a rare breed in today’s NHL in that he can take over a game all by himself.

Take Care!

BLH

https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/670774928602497024

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, NHL

BLH’s 2015/16 NHL All-Star Rosters

Will we see another Oiler phenom walk away with the All-Star Game MVP?

Well what a slow week it’s been here at BLH. With the site’s servers going all wonky and not a whole lot going on in the Oilogosphere worth writing about, weeks like this are bound to happen. But I think we should kick start your heart with a bit of NHL All-Star speculation!

Whilst the game isn’t until January 31st I still find it fun to pontificate on who might be selected to this year’s rosters and given the changes that will take place this year, it’s bound to be a ridiculously entertaining affair. A three-on-three tourney between the divisions with a million bucks on the line is just what the doctor ordered!

So the selection process goes as follows, fans will get to vote for each division’s captain. From there the NHL’s hockey operations department will fill out the rest of the roster. Every team must be represented.

Without further ado, let’s get stuck in!

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Jack Eichel simply hasn’t done enough to get an invite and I’m torn between Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk out of Detroit. A super longshot might be James Reimer because if he can continue to play like he is now, he most definitely should be on this roster. And yes, old man Jagr is going to make the cut!

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

  • Justin Faulk – Carolina Hurricanes
  • John Carlson – Washington Capitals
  • Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins

No Crosby this year which will be kind of odd. Kuznetsov is having a breakout campaign as well. I took the most entertaining guy out of Columbus in Saad. I guess it couldn’t been any one of Johansen, Hartnell, Jenner or Saad but I think Saad would be more suited to the 3v3 format. If I had my way there wouldn’t be one New Jersey Devil or Carolina Hurricane on the team. They are simply no players good enough on either team for the All-Star game.

CENTRAL DIVISION

No Toews, Panarin, Keith or Crawford which is a shame. Dubnyk is quietly having another good season for Minnesota and just to rub it into Oilers fans and former management types… He’ll add All-Star to Vezina finalist since leaving Edmonton.

PACIFIC DIVISION

  • Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings
  • Martin Jones – San Jose Sharks

That’s right! Connor McDavid will be an All-Star this season. The NHL has already lost mega bucks on this collar bone injury and you can be damned sure there not going to miss out on this opportunity. He’ll be back a few weeks prior to the event, so there’s no worries there. I only picked Getzlaf because I think he’s coming around and there’s nobody else on the Ducks I find worthy of playing in the annual game of shinny.

Do you like my selections? Who would you pick? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day!

BLH