Posted on
1/25/2008 4:54:41 PM
Hockey Wagering - NHL Heads Into All-Star weekend
By BetUS Staff
Those of you who like to do your NHL betting on actual game action will have to wait for the league’s regular-season schedule to start up again on Tuesday night, but if you absolutely need a hockey fix this weekend you at least have the annual All-Star contest.
And even though the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference will both be icing some pretty good teams on Sunday (puck drop 6:00pm ET on CBS and VS), you could also make a stellar squad out of those players who will be skipping this big event.
Headlining that list is Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, who will be out for the next couple of months with a high ankle sprain. Crosby has 63 points in 46 games this season, and his loss creates a big hole for both the Penguins and the Eastern Conference All-Stars. Fellow Pens forward Evgeni Malkin will replace him on Sunday.
The East will actually be down two high-scoring forwards, as Ottawa Senators winger Dany Heatley is out too with a separated shoulder. Heatley has 56 points in 43 games this season, and his spot on the roster will be filled by the Boston Bruins’ Marc Savard.
New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was voted as the Eastern Conference’s starter between the pipes, but he is going to skip the contest as well (for undisclosed reasons). Boston’s Tim Thomas will fill in for him on Sunday night, and he’ll be joining fellow goaltenders Rick DiPietro (Islanders) and Tomas Vokoun (Panthers) on the team.
The East’s starting lineup will include Tampa’s Vincent Lecavalier and Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson up front, along with Boston’s Zdeno Chara and Montreal’s Andrei Markov on the blue line. Defense reserves are Brian Campbell, Sergei Gonchar, Tomas Kaberle and Kimmo Timonen, while forward reserves are Scott Gomez, Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alex Ovechkin, Mike Richards, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, and Martin St. Louis.
The Western side will be missing three All-Star skaters: Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg, Colorado Avalanche forward Paul Stastny, and Dallas Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov. Their replacements will be Dallas’ Mike Ribeiro, Anaheim’s Corey Perry, and Anaheim’s Scott Niedermayer. Zetterberg is out with a sore back, Stastny just had his appendix removed, and Zubov has been dealing with a foot injury.
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was voted into the West’s starting lineup, but he’s decided to skip the contest. That leaves the West’s goaltending duties for Detroit’s Chris Osgood, St. Louis’ Manny Legace, and San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov.
The West’s starting lineup will include Calgary’s Jarome Iginla and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk at forward, plus Calgary’s Dion Phaneuf and Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom on defense. Duncan Keith, Ed Jovanovski, and Chris Pronger fill out the conference’s roster on defense, with Jason Arnott, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Getzlaf, Shawn Horcoff, Anze Kopitar, Rick Nash, Henrik Sedin, and Joe Thornton the extra Western forwards.
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