Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Today on NBCSN: The 2012 NHL All-Star Game

2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills Competition

OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 28: Team Alfredsson kneel on the ice during the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills Competition at Scotiabank Place on January 28, 2012 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Getty Images

It’s finally here. The NHL All-Star Game between Team Alfredsson and Team Chara drops the puck in Ottawa this afternoon (4:00 p.m. ET) and while it’s just an exhibition and the guys are out there to do their part to light up each other’s goalies, there are some curious juxtapositions in this game.

Team Alfredsson is made up of all the Swedish All-Stars. Daniel Alfredsson captaining the team with Henrik Lundqvist as the assistant managed to pick up Alex Edler, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, and Erik Karlsson.

This also means that Team Alfredsson has all the Vancouver Canucks in today’s game on their team. Comparing that with Team Chara captained by Zdeno Chara who also drafted his Bruins teammates Tyler Seguin and Tim Thomas to his side and you have a the whole Bruins-Canucks rivalry at hand. If this game were played like a playoff game, there’d be enough fire there to make sure no one tuned out.

As it is we’ll have to hope to see maybe the Sedins work some magic around Thomas or perhaps see Chara throw a bodycheck on Edler. With checking being practically forbidden, any hit would be enough to cause a stir. If all that isn’t enough drama for you, perhaps seeing Phil Kessel being coached by Claude Julien one more time is enough to get you excited.

As for the guys that will take the worst of it in the game, the goalies are ready to be shelled. Team Chara rolls with Thomas, Canadiens goalie Carey Price, and Red Wings starter Jimmy Howard. Team Alfredsson will try to hold things down with Lundqvist, Kings star Jonathan Quick, and Blues starter Brian Elliott.

For what it’s worth, Bovada Sports (formerly Bodog) has the over/under on goals scored in this game at 19.5 -- Keep in mind that last year’s game ended up 11-10 win for Team Lidstrom over Team Staal and the 2009 All-Star Game was a 12-11 win for the East over the West.

Streaking: Team Chara starting goalie Tim Thomas has been the winning goalie in the last three All-Star Games. Should Team Chara get ahead while he’s in the game, Thomas will have a shot at making it four in a row. It’s a bit of a silly stat, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

See also: Breaking down Team Alfredsson and Team Chara’s lineups.