NHL All-Star Balloting Hits Homestretch

Voting for the 2009 NHL All-Star game in Montreal ends Friday, January 2, 2009 at 9 a.m.

The leading vote-getters for the Eastern Conference at forward are a couple of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Kovalev of Montreal. I wish Washington's Alexander Ovechkin would sneak into Kovalev's spot, but that looks like a ridiculous longshot at this point.

Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov and the Penguins' Sergei Gonchar are leading all vote-getters from the blue line in the East. Gonchar hasn't played a game yet this season. He probably won't until at least March. Surely someone will be appointed to start in his place (rather than take the player with the next highest vote total). Ryan Whitney will not have played the required minimum of 20 games by the time voting ends, so he is not eligible. Because of that, I guess I hope Zdeno Chara from Boston gets the nod. He has earned it.

In quite the amazing comeback that nobody is talking about, Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury has gained the lead among Eastern Conference goaltenders from Montreal's Carey Price. Either one would be worthy of the start, but only because New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur is injured.

I was going to write about the Western Conference, but I'm too interested in this Canada vs. Czech Republic game from the World Junior Tournament I am watching on the old DVR.

Good game. Bruins suck.