Metropolitan vs. Atlantic
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 METROPOLITAN DIVISION: New Jersey’s Brian Boyle was named to his first All-Star Game in place of injured teammate Taylor Hall after missing the early portion of the season while getting treated for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin have combined for five Hart trophies and eight Rocket Richard trophies to lead the Metropolitan’s forward corps along with New York Islanders ace center John Tavares. Defensemen Noah Hanifin of Carolina and Zach Werenski of Columbus make their first All-Star Game appearances while veteran New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist will participate in his fourth.
ABOUT THE ATLANTIC DIVISION: Kucherov leads the league with 63 points and is tied for second with 27 goals to lead the only division that features only two defensemen - two-time Norris Trophy-winning Erik Karlsson of Ottawa and Detroit’s Mike Green. Point replaced injured teammate Victor Hedman, a front runner for the Norris this season, and Atlantic may have the best duo in net with Vasilevskiy (league-best 29 wins, seven shutouts) and former Hart Trophy winner Carey Price of Montreal. A talented young forward group includes last season’s Calder Trophy winner Auston Matthews of Toronto and Buffalo’s Jack Eichel, along with Aleksander Barkov of Florida.