NHL All-Star Game rosters were announced for the four divisional teams Wednesday, with some expected choices and some surprises ahead of the Jan. 28 contest in Tampa, Florida.
The following are the rosters for each team:
Atlantic Division (All-Star appearances)
F Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers (1st)
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres (1st)
F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning (2nd)
F Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins (2nd)
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (2nd)
F Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (5th)
D Mike Green, Detroit Red Wings (2nd)
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning (2nd)
D Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators (5th)
G Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens (6th)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning (1st)
Red Wings forwards Dylan Larkin (34 points) and Anthony Mantha (14 goals) were overlooked in favor of Green (24 points). Barkov was a slight surprise, given that linemates Jonathan Huberdeau (43 points) and Vincent Trocheck (17 goals) have better offensive numbers.
Metropolitan Division (All-Star appearances)
F Josh Bailey, New York Islanders (1st)
F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (3rd)
F Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers (5th)
F Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils (3rd)
F Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (7th)
F John Tavares, New York Islanders (5th)
D Noah Hanifin, Carolina Hurricanes (1st)
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets (2nd)
D Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins (4th)
G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals (3rd)
G Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4th)
Penguins star Crosby (43 points) made the cut over winger Phil Kessel, who leads the team in goals (18) and points (47). Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, was overlooked in favor of Holtby despite having better numbers. Sean Couturier, who is having a career year with 42 points in 42 games for the Flyers, was passed over for Bailey.
Central Division (All-Star appearance)
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (7th)
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (2nd)
F Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues (1st)
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars (5th)
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild (5th)
F Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets (1st)
D John Klingberg, Dallas Stars (1st)
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (1st)
D P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators (3rd)
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets (1st)
G Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators (2nd)
Vladimir Tarasenko, who leads the Blues in goals (19), was overlooked for Schenn. Both have 44 points. Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, arguably their first-half MVP, was overlooked for Staal.
Pacific Division (All-Star appearances)
F Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks (1st)
F Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames (4th)
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (4th)
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (2nd)
F James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights (3rd)
F Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks (1st)
D Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks (5th)
D Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (4th)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes (2nd)
G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights (3rd)
G Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3rd)
Fleury is one of the biggest surprises, having played just 12 games for the Golden Knights during an injury-plagued season and getting in over Anaheim goalie John Gibson, who has a .923 save percentage in 33 games.
The captains for the game are Stamkos (Atlantic), Ovechkin (Metropolitan), Subban (Central) and McDavid (Pacific). The coaches are Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic), Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals (Metropolitan), Peter Laviolette of the Nashville Predators (Central) and Gerard Gallant (Pacific) of the Golden Knights.
NHL All-Star Weekend will be held at Amalie Arena, with the skills competition on Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET and the game on Jan. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
It will be a three-on-three tournament among the four divisions. Unlike previous years, the All-Star Game will be held during Tampa's Gasparilla Parade, an annual pirate festival that has previously brought in crowds of 200,000 merrymakers.