NHL.com makes its picks for All-Star rosters

Fan voting for the
2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game
began Saturday, and to mark the occasion NHL.com staff writers and editors have made their picks.

Voters were asked to select a captain for each divisional team, which is what the public will be voting on through Jan. 1. They also went a step further and picked the 11-player team for each of the four divisions. Four writers/editors were assigned to each of the four divisions; each named six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies to represent that division. The panel ranked the forwards 1-6, the defensemen 1-3 and the goalies as one or two. Cumulative vote totals determined who made the list and where they were placed. Ties were broken by the player who appeared on more ballots. Each team must be represented.
Fans can have their say as well with the NHL All-Star Fan Vote. The top vote-getter in each division will be named that team's captain, and the NHL Hockey Operations staff will pick the remaining players for the game, which will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Jan. 28.
The game will use the same format as last season, with the four division teams playing in a 3-on-3 tournament.

Metropolitan Division All-Star Team

Captain: John Tavares, New York Islanders

Forwards
1. John Tavares, New York Islanders
2. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
3. Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins
4. Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers
5. Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils
6. Teuvo Teravainen, Carolina Hurricanes
Defensemen
1. Nick Leddy, New York Islanders
2. Kevin Shattenkirk, New York Rangers
3. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
Goalies
1. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
2. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Voting panel: Mike Morreale, NHL.com Staff Writer; Tom Gulitti, NHL.com Staff Writer; Adam Kimelman, NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor; Brian Compton, NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
Tavares, who's second in the division in goals with 16 (Ovechkin is first with a League-best 18), was nearly a unanimous pick as captain and the top forward for the Metropolitan Division, getting three of four first-place votes in each category (Kessel had the other in each). Of the six forwards selected, Tavares, Kessel and Ovechkin appeared on all four ballots. Hall and Voracek each was named on three. Teravainen, who received two sixth-place votes, made the team as the Hurricanes' representative.
Leddy, who leads all defensemen in the division with 21 points (six goals, 15 assists), and Shattenkirk, who's second with 19, appeared on three of the four ballots. Werenski, whose seven goals are the most among Metropolitan Division defensemen, received one first-place vote.
Bobrovsky, who leads the division in wins (14), save percentage (.935) and goals-against average (1.92) was first on all four ballots. Holtby was second on three; Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers got the other second-place vote.

Atlantic Division All-Star Team

Captain: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Forwards
1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
5. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
6. Evander Kane, Buffalo Sabres
Defensemen
1. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
2. Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
3. Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Goalies
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers
Voting panel: Dave Stubbs, NHL.com Columnist; Shawn Roarke, NHL.com Director of Editorial; Amalie Benjamin, NHL.com Staff Writer; Mike Zeisberger, NHL.com Staff Writer
Like Tavares, Kucherov, whose 17 goals are second in the League behind Ovechkin, was the top choice on three of four ballots. Stamkos, the NHL leader in points with 37 (11 goals, 26 assists), was the unanimous choice for captain and received the other first-place vote along with three second-place votes. Kucherov and Stamkos each appeared on all four ballots; so did Matthews, who got a second-place vote, two fourth-place votes and a sixth-place vote. Larkin, Barkov and Kane each appeared on three of the four ballots.
Karlsson, in a four-way tie for second among Atlantic Division defensemen with 17 points, was a unanimous choice. Weber (three) was the only other defensemen to appear on multiple ballots.
Vasilevskiy, the NHL leader in wins (16) and the division leader in save percentage (.932) was a unanimous choice for No. 1 goalie. Luongo, third in the division with a .928 save percentage, received two second-place votes. Bruins goalie Anton Khudobin, second in the division in save percentage (.932), also received a second-place vote.

Central Division All-Star Team

Captain: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues

Forwards
1. Jaden Schwartz, St. Louis Blues
2. Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues
3. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
4. Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
5. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
6. Jason Zucker, Minnesota Wild
Defensemen
1. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
2. John Klingberg, Dallas Stars
3. P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators
Goalies
1. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
2. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
Voting panel: Bill Price, NHL.com Editor-in-Chief; Jon Lane, NHL.com Staff Writer; Tim Campbell, NHL.com Staff Writer; Nick Cotsonika, NHL.com Columnist
Schwartz, who's tied with Scheifele for the division lead in goals (13), assists (19) and points (32), was the only forward in all four divisions to be a unanimous No. 1 selection. Schwartz, Schenn and Pietrangelo appeared on all four ballots, and Pietrangelo received three votes for captain. Scheifele and MacKinnon were the other forwards to appear on all four ballots. Zucker and Tarasenko each appeared on three.
Klingberg, the division leader among defensemen in points (18) and assists (14), appeared on all four ballots and was the only Dallas player to garner any votes. Subban appeared on three ballots.
Crawford, who leads the all goalies in the division (minimum 10 games played) in save percentage (.930) and GAA (2.29), was the only Blackhawks player to receive any votes and was a unanimous choice as the No. 1 goalie. Rinne, tied with Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets for the division lead in wins with 14 and second to Crawford in save percentage (.925) and GAA (2.38), received two second-place votes.

Pacific Division All-Star Team

Captain: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Forwards
1. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
2. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
3. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
4. Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks
5. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames
6. William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights
Defensemen
1. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
2. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
3. Brandon Montour, Anaheim Ducks
Goalies
1. Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks
2. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Voting panel: Dan Rosen, NHL.com Senior Writer; Lisa Dillman, NHL.com Staff Writer; David Satriano, NHL.com Staff Writer; Pete Jensen, NHL.com Senior Fantasy Editor
Gaudreau, McDavid, Kopitar and Boeser each was on all four ballots, with the Oilers center getting two votes as captain. Gaudreau, the division leader in assists (23) and points (34), and Kopitar, third in the division with 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) each received one vote for captain.
Monahan received three fourth-place votes. He's tied for the division lead in goals (14) with Karlsson, who had two sixth-place votes and is making the team as the Golden Knights' representative.
Doughty, who leads Pacific defenseman with 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) and Ekman-Larsson, second with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) appeared on all four ballots. Montour, who is tied for first with Ekman-Larsson for goals by division defensemen, was listed on three. Hampus Lindholm of the Ducks was the only other Pacific defenseman to get a vote.
Jones, the lone Sharks player to be named, got three of the four first-place votes; Quick, who is tied with Flames goalie Mike Smith for most wins (12) by a Pacific Division goaltender, got the other as well as two second-place votes. Smith got the other second-place vote.