NHL All-Star Game: Pacific vs. Central
The NHL decided to change the format for the 2016 All-Star Game on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn., and its quick fix resulted in a 3-on-3 tournament featuring 44 players among the four divisions - with the winning team splitting $1 million. The semifinals pit the Metropolitan versus the Atlantic and the Central against the Pacific in a pair of 20-minute games in which the teams switch ends after 10 minutes, with the winners returning for a 20-minute championship.
The Eastern Conference prevailed in the Skills Competition on Saturday, giving it the right to choose to play the first semifinal Sunday so the winning division rests while the Western teams compete in the second semifinal. The Central Division appears to have the edge as it possesses the NHL's top three scorers in Chicago's Patrick Kane (73 points, league-high 30 goals), who was voted captain, and Dallas teammates Jamie Benn (58) and Tyler Seguin (53).
TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE CENTRAL DIVISION: The home crowd should have plenty about which to cheer as the host Predators have four representatives after forward James Neal was added to replace the Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews (illness), joining goaltender Pekka Rinne and defensemen Roman Josi and Shea Weber. The 3-on-3 format puts an emphasis on speed, and the Central has three of the NHL's fastest skaters in Kane, Seguin and Colorado forward Matt Duchene (23 goals). St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko (tied for fourth with Seguin with 25 goals) gives the Central four of the top six goal scorers in the league (Benn 28).
ABOUT THE PACIFIC DIVISION: Former Arizona Coyote John Scott (five goals, 542 penalty minutes in 285 career games) is the Pacific captain after a fan voting prank gone bad, and he will serve and play in that capacity despite being traded to Montreal on Jan. 15. The Pacific boasts four 20-goal scorers in San Jose's Joe Pavelski (25), Vancouver's Daniel Sedin (21), Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau (20) and Anaheim's Corey Perry (20). Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick and Anaheim rookie John Gibson (NHL-best 1.91 goals-against average) could negate the Central's speed advantage, but the format seems as if it will provide plenty of scoring.