Central vs. Pacific
The host team will be well-represented with four players on the ice for the 3-on-3 format at the 63rd NHL All-Star Game in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday afternoon. Forwards Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, along with goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, from the league-best Lightning were named to the contest as the franchise hosts the event for the first time since Wayne Gretzky was named the MVP at the 1999 All-Star Game in Tampa.
Stamkos was voted as the captain of the Atlantic Division after missing most of last season with a knee injury, and has posted 18 goals to go along with 40 assists in the first 49 games of 2017-18. “I didn’t really know what to expect at the beginning of the year, to be honest,” Stamkos told the Tampa Bay Times before his fifth All-Star Game. “That injury last year, and the accumulation of all the tough-luck injuries I’ve had to deal with, it puts a toll on your body … on your mind. But you fall back on the preparation you put into it.” It will be the third season for the 3-on-3 format at the event where each division uses nine skaters and two goalies in a single-elimination tournament that was won by the Pacific in 2016 and the Metropolitan in 2017. The Central meets the Pacific in the first 20-minute semifinal followed by the Metropolitan versus the Atlantic, with the winning divisions playing another 20 minutes for $1 million.
TV: 3:30 p.m., ET, NBC
ABOUT THE CENTRAL DIVISION: Nashville’s P.K. Subban, who leads all defensemen in the league with 12 goals, captains perhaps the most talented group of skaters in the tournament. Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon, who sits second in the league with 60 points, tops the forward group that includes 2015-16 Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane from Chicago, 23-goal scorer Tyler Seguin from Dallas and Minnesota veteran center Eric Staal. John Klingberg of Dallas, who leads all defensemen in the league with 48 points, and St. Louis’ Alex Pietrangelo (35 points) make their maiden voyages in the All-Star Game along with Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck (26 victories).
ABOUT THE PACIFIC DIVISION: Marc-Andre Fleury (1.77 goals-against average, .942 save percentage), who has been a big part of expansion Vegas’ remarkable start, makes his first All-Star Game appearance since 2015 and third overall. Calgary’s Mike Smith replaced injured Jonathan Quick of Los Angeles to join Fleury between the pipes with the last two Norris Trophy winners - Drew Doughty (Los Angeles) and Brent Burns (San Jose) on defense. Last season’s Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid of Edmonton leads a strong forward corps that includes Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau, rookie Brock Boeser from Vancouver and veteran center Anze Kopitar of Los Angeles.