Former Montreal Canadien players Jean Belliveau (2nd L)and Bob Gainey (2nd R) drop the pucks during the ceremonial face-off between Eastern conference all-star Alexei Kovalev (L) of the Montreal Canadiens and Western conference all-star Joe Thornton (R) of the San Jose Sharks before the NHL All-Star hockey game in Montreal, January 25, 2009.
The NHL will showcase its best and brightest Sunday evening in the hockey hotbed of Montreal, as the Eastern Conference battles the West in the 57th annual All-Star Game at the Bell Centre.
This is the fourth time Montreal has hosted the mid-season showcase in the expansion era and the first time since February 6, 1993 -- just months before the Canadiens won their last Stanley Cup title. It's also the first time the All-Star Game is being staged in Canada since Toronto hosted the event in 2000.
Playing All-Star game host is also another way for the Canadiens to celebrate their 100th year in existence. The Habs have planned numerous events throughout the season to mark their centennial, including the retirement of goaltender Patrick Roy's jersey.
The 2009 contest is the fifth since the league went back to the traditional East-West format. Prior to this stretch, the league used the North America vs. the World theme for five years.
The East and West have split the last four meetings since returning to the conference format. Last year, the East picked up an 8-7 win in Atlanta as Boston's Marc Savard scored the game-winning goal with 20.9 seconds left in regulation.
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Canadiens fans won't have to wait long to see their local heroes skate on the home ice Sunday, as four Habs were voted in as starters on the Eastern Conference squad.
Carey Price will be the East's starting goaltender, Alex Kovalev will start on one wing, while Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek will make up the blueline tandem. The Canadiens nearly swept the starting slots on the East, as they led the voting for all six spots at one point.
Kovalev, who was selected as the East captain, will make his fourth All-Star appearance Sunday, while Markov is playing in his second game. Both Price and Komisarek will be making their All-Star debuts.
The remaining two starters on the East were from the Pittsburgh Penguins, as the fans also voted in forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. However, Crosby will not play in this year's game as he is suffering from a left knee injury. Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning was announced as Crosby's replacement.
Crosby was the leading vote-getter this year as he garnered a record 1,713,021 votes to easily beat the record set by Jaromir Jagr in 2000.
Pittsburgh's duo heads into the break as the top-two scorers in the NHL, as Malkin leads the league with 70 points and Crosby is next with 60.
The Western Conference starting lineup is represented by players from just two teams. From the Chicago Blackhawks, forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and defenseman Brian Campbell were voted in by the fans. The remaining three West starters are from Anaheim as goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, defenseman Scott Niedermayer and forward Ryan Getzlaf made the squad.
Kane, last year's Calder Trophy winner as the league's top rookie, will be making his All-Star debut after leading the West with 917,551 votes. Toews, a fellow NHL sophomore, was also selected to the mid-season showcase for the first time. Campbell is playing in his third straight game, but his first as a Blackhawk.
Niedermayer leads all starting players with six All-Star appearances. Getzlaf is playing in his second game, while Giguere, a native of Montreal, is getting the start in his All-Star debut.
San Jose centerman Joe Thornton was selected as the captain for the West squad.
Washington's Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's reigning MVP, was not voted in as an East starter, but did make his third All-Star team as a reserve. The Russian superstar is leading the NHL with 31 goals this season and is third behind Malkin and Crosby with 59 points.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings won't have a representative on the ice this year, as two Detroit players were named as reserves, but will sit out to rest injuries. Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom has been replaced on the roster by Stephane Robidas of Dallas, while teammate Pavel Datsyuk will sit out and make way for San Jose forward Patrick Marleau.
The head coach of the Eastern Conference will be Boston's Claude Julien. His assistant will be Montreal head coach Guy Carbonneau.
For the West, coaching will be San Jose's Todd McLellan, and Detroit's Mike Babcock will serve as the assistant.
