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NEW YORK -- The 51st NHL All-Star Game will have a
hometown feel after four members of the Colorado Avalanche were
elected starters for the Feb. 4 contest at Denver's Pepsi
Center.
Five-time Norris Trophy winner Ray Bourque will make his 19th
All-Star appearance, moving into second place behind Gordie Howe
(23). Acquired late last season from Boston, Bourque topped all
vote-getters on the North American team with 215,903 and will
start on defense alongside Hart and Norris Trophy winner Chris
Pronger of the St. Louis Blues.
Avalanche center Joe Sakic, the league's leading scorer with 61
points, will start at center after easily outpolling Mike Modano
of the Dallas Stars. It will be the ninth All-Star appearance
and first start in 10 years for Sakic, Colorado's captain.
Goaltender Patrick Roy of the Avalanche will appear in his ninth
All-Star Game and first since 1998. The NHL's all-time
winningest goalie in the regular season and playoffs, Roy
received 174,963 votes, some 58,000 more than Curtis Joseph of
the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Center Peter Forsberg is the other Avalanche starter, getting
the nod at center for the World All-Stars after receiving
209,182 votes. It will be the fourth All-Star appearance for
the talented Swede.
Colorado is the first team since the 1992 Pittsburgh Penguins to
have four starters in the All-Star Game.
The other starters on the North American team will be New York
Rangers right wing Theo Fleury, who will make his seventh career
All-Star appearance and first start, and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
left wing Paul Kariya. Despite missing nine games with a
cracked bone in his right foot, Kariya was a close second among
North American wingers with 151,893 votes.
All five North American starters are Canadians. The American
that came closest to receiving a starting berth was veteran
sniper Brett Hull, who was third among wingers, 17,500 votes
behind Kariya.
Joining Forsberg among World starters are Czech right wing
Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Russian right wing
Pavel Bure of the Florida Panthers, Swedish defenseman Nicklas
Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings, Latvian defenseman Sandis
Ozolinsh of the Carolina Hurricanes and Czech goaltender Dominik
Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres.
Jagr topped all vote-getters on both teams for the third time in
four years with 275,395 and will make his seventh All-Star
appearance and fourth straight start.
Bure, last year's All-Star Most Valuable Player, is a six-time
All-Star who will be making his first start since 1994. Last
February, he recorded the 11th hat trick in All-Star history.
Lidstrom, a perennial Norris Trophy finalist, will make his
third consecutive All-Star start and fifth appearance overall.
Ozolinsh, who spent the previous 4 1/2 seasons with Colorado, is
a five-time All-Star.
Hasek, a five-time Vezina Trophy winner, was the top vote-getter
among World goalies for the fourth straight year. He missed
last year's game in Toronto due to a groin injury but will be
making his fifth All-Star appearance. On Friday night, Hasek
became the 20th goalie in NHL history to record 50 career
shutouts.
The head coach of the World All-Stars will be Joel Quenneville,
a former Colorado assistant. He will be assisted by Bob Hartley
of the Avalanche. Jacques Martin of the Ottawa Senators, another
former Colorado assistant, will coach the North American stars
and will be assisted by Larry Robinson of the New Jersey Devils.
All-Star Weekend begins Feb. 3 with the Heroes of Hockey
Game and the SuperSkills Competition. The 51st All-Star Game
will be played on Feb. 4 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
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ALSO SEE
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Lemieux added to N. America NHL All-Star squad
World Team vote by position
N. American Team vote by position
In the Corners: Formatting the All-Star Game
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