NHL All-Star Game rosters revealed
O'Reilly, Pietrangelo, Binnington from host Blues among those named to Jan. 25 event
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O'Reilly, Pietrangelo and Binnington, who helped the Blues win their first Stanley Cup championship last season, were named to the Central Division All-Star Team by the NHL Hockey Operations Department on Monday.
When O'Reilly was named as the Blues' lone representative in the 2019 All-Star Game on Jan. 2 of last season, they were in last place in the NHL standings. This season, the Blues (26-8-6) lead the Western Conference with 58 points and have won their past eight games.
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Pietrangelo, the Blues captain, will make his second All-Star Game appearance after playing in the 2018 game. He is tied with Shea Weber of the Montreal Canadiens for fifth among defensemen with 31 points (10 goal, 21 assists).
"It's special, especially to have that opportunity with [the game] being in St. Louis," Pietrangelo told the Blues website. "It's a pretty special deal to be able to do this at home, and it's going to be more fun sharing the opportunity with my family."
Binnington will play in his first All-Star Game. The 26-year-old goalie didn't make his first NHL start until Jan. 7 last season. This season, he's tied with Frederik Andersen of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the NHL lead in wins (19-6-4) and has a 2.39 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and one shutout.
The Washington Capitals (27-8-5), who lead Metropolitan Division and the NHL with 59 points, had two players selected. John Carlson, who leads NHL defensemen with 50 points (13 goals, 37 assists), will make his second All-Star Game appearance, and goalie Braden Holtby will make his fifth.
"That's obviously no surprise to anyone," Holtby said of Carlson's selection. "It's good. It's fun to share it with him and spend some time with him. He's obviously having an unbelievable season. So he's got some pressure on him now for the hardest shot again."
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin was voted captain of the Metropolitan Division but announced Saturday he will not attend All-Star Weekend to rest in preparation for the remainder of the season.
Other teams with two All-Star Game representatives are the Boston Bruins (forward David Pastrnak, goalie Tuukka Rask) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (Andersen, forward Auston Matthews) in the Atlantic Division; the Calgary Flames (defenseman Mark Giordano, forward Matthew Tkachuk), the Edmonton Oilers (forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl) and the Vancouver Canucks (forward Elias Pettersson and goalie Jacob Markstrom) in the Pacific Division; the Winnipeg Jets (forward Mark Scheifele, goalie Connor Hellebuyck) in the Central Division; and the Columbus Blue Jackets (defenseman Seth Jones, goalie Joonas Korpisalo) in the Metropolitan Division.
Tkachuk, who grew up in St. Louis, said he was thrilled to be able to represent the Flames in his hometown.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I have a feeling the rest of my career the All-Star Game won't be in St. Louis again. I have to take full advantage of this weekend," Tkachuk said. "The amount of family and friends I'm going to have in town is going to be insane. The amount of family and friends … it's going to be awesome and I'm sure it'll be a good party every night. I'm looking forward to it."
Korpisalo, who was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time, is out 4-6 weeks after having surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus sustained in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
"He's been probably the most important person on the team this month," Jones said of Korpisalo. "For him to be seen as one of the best goalies, not only in our division but in the League is something for us that doesn't go unnoticed by us but that's great for him."
Arizona Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper also was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time but is out week to week with a lower-body injury he sustained Dec. 20. Forward Jake Guentzel, the lone member of the Pittsburgh Penguins selected to the All-Star Game, is out 4-6 months after having surgery on his right shoulder, which he injured in a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Monday. He also would have been making his first appearance in the All-Star Game.
Nine of the top 10 in the NHL in points were selected to play in this season's All-Star Game: McDavid (63), Draisaitl (61), Pastrnak (58), Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (56), Florida Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau (53), Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel (52), New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin (51), Carlson (50) and Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (47).
"It was a big honor, a lot of guys to credit," Eichel said. "I've been playing with a lot of good players here, the beneficiary of a lot of good hockey plays. So it's a huge honor."
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Kane will play in his ninth All-Star Game, the most in this season's game. Weber will make his seventh appearance.
"I think it doesn't get old," Kane said. "You'd rather be selected than not selected. Each All-Star Game has its own experience, own memories. I'll try to make some more in St. Louis this year."
Andersen, Binnington, Huberdeau, Korpisalo, Kuemper, Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny and Ottawa Senators forward Anthony Duclair are among 13 players selected to play in the All-Star Game for the first time.
"It's pretty fresh so it hasn't really settled in yet," Konecny said. "It's something that you don't really think about it until it kind of happens. When you make the NHL that's one of the first steps, you want to be successful and win the Stanley Cup with your team but you don't really think about the All-Star Game. Now that it's come up it's pretty amazing. Got a lot of people to thank for it."
Duclair was traded to the Senators by the Blue Jackets on Feb. 23; Ottawa is his fourth team (Columbus, Chicago, Arizona) since the start of the 2017-18 season.
"It means a lot," Duclair said. "Obviously, the past couple years have been a little rough personally. Just to bounce back here with the help of my family, the love and support I get back home every day, has been huge.
"My teammates here, coaching staff and obviously the fans, I really thank everybody. I wouldn't be in this position today if it wasn't for everyone. I appreciate all the love and support."
San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture, who was named to the All-Star Game for the second time, said, "it's an honor I cherish."
Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi, selected to the All-Star Game for the first time, said he was thrilled about playing in the game.
"It was a little bit of a surprise and it is obviously a great honor," Bertuzzi said. "I knew there was a chance, but I tried to stay focused on our team and what we need to do to win. The best players in the League are going to be there. I know that if they didn't have to pick someone from every team, I wouldn't be going, but I'm excited about the opportunity."
MacKinnon (Central), Pastrnak (Atlantic), and McDavid (Pacific) were voted captains of their division by the fans.
The coach of the team with the highest points percentage in each division at the halfway point of the regular season will coach his division's All-Star team.
Each division will have one more player added to its roster by the 2020 NHL All-Star Last Men In presented by adidas fan vote. The player with the most votes from each of the four divisions will be added to the All-Star Game rosters.
Voting for the Last Men In opens Wednesday, Jan. 1, at 12 p.m. ET and closes Friday, Jan. 10, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Fans can vote at NHL.com/Vote or on a mobile interactive ballot on the NHL app.
The 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend will again consist of a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format, featuring four teams, one for each NHL division.
The 2020 NHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place at Enterprise Center on Jan. 24 (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS), one day before the game.
Here are the rosters:
Atlantic Division (All-Star appearance)
F Tyler Bertuzzi, DET (1st)
F Anthony Duclair, OTT (1st)
F Jack Eichel, BUF (3rd)
F Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA (1st)
F Auston Matthews, TOR (4th)
F David Pastrnak, BOS (2nd)*
D Victor Hedman, TBL (3rd)
D Shea Weber, MTL (7th)
G Frederik Andersen, TOR (1st)
G Tuukka Rask, BOS (2nd)
Metropolitan Division (All-Star appearance)
F Mathew Barzal, NYI (2nd)
F Jake Guentzel, PIT (1st)
F Kyle Palmieri, NJD (2nd)
F Artemi Panarin, NYR (1st)
F Travis Konecny, PHI (1st)
D John Carlson, WSH (2nd)
D Dougie Hamilton, CAR (1st)
D Seth Jones, CBJ (3rd)
G Braden Holtby, WSH (5th)
G Joonas Korpisalo, CBJ (1st)
Central Division (All-Star appearance)
F Patrick Kane, CHI (9th)
F Nathan MacKinnon, COL (4th)*
F Ryan O'Reilly, STL (3rd)
F Mark Scheifele, WPG (2nd)
F Tyler Seguin, DAL (6th)
F Eric Staal, MIN (6th)
D Roman Josi, NSH (3rd)
D Alex Pietrangelo, STL (2nd)
G Jordan Binnington, STL (1st)
G Connor Hellebuyck, WPG (2nd)
Pacific Division (All-Star appearance)
F Logan Couture, SJS (2nd)
F Leon Draisaitl, EDM (2nd)
F Anze Kopitar, LAK (5th)
F Connor McDavid, EDM (4th)\
F Elias Pettersson, VAN (2nd)
F Jakob Silfverberg, ANA (1st)
F Matthew Tkachuk, CGY (1st)
D Mark Giordano, CGY (3rd)
G Jacob Markstrom, VAN (1st)
G Darcy Kuemper, ARI (1st)
* Fan-elected captain*
