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

Boyle, Point, Smith named replacements for NHL All-Star Game

r2xI_GmKoEOr
Brian Boyle, Brayden Point and Mike Smith have been named as replacements for the 2018 NHL All-Star Game in Tampa.

Brian Boyle, Brayden Point and Mike Smith have been named as replacements for this weekend’s NHL All-Star Game in Tampa.

Point will replace his injured Tampa Bay Lightning teammate Victor Hedman, who’s out with a knee injury. Mike Smith of the Calgary Flames will take the place of Jonathan Quick on the Pacific Division team. The Los Angeles Kings netminder has been dealing with a lingering injury, and while he backed up Darcy Kuemper during Wedneday night’s 2-1 overtime win against the Flames he will have to miss the team’s first game out of the break Tuesday in Dallas.

“They’ve been on-and-off,” Kings general manager Rob Blake said of what’s been bothering Quick. “Just by going off of his past and his last season and that, we felt the time that he could use over this All-Star Break to really get things healed up and take that time to move forward for the stretch here.”

A hand injury has kept Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils out since Saturday night and he’ll remain sidelined through the break. In his place on the Metropolitan Division team will be teammate Brian Boyle, who was a member of the Lightning for three seasons. His introduction to the Amalie Arena crowd this weekend will surely be emotional four months after he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.

Brad Marchand, meanwhile, will be in attendance this weekend despite being suspended five games for elbowing Devils forward Marcus Johansson.

“I’m going to go,” Marchand said after Thursday’s morning skate. “I’m very proud of that opportunity. It’s something that I’ve worked very hard for and never thought I’d have the opportunity to do. It’s something I’m very proud about and I’m going to go and enjoy every second of it.”

Apparently, NHL rules allow suspended players to participate in the All-Star Game, whereas players who miss due to injury must sit out a game. Go figure.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, who are celebrating their 25th season, and the city of Tampa will host the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. The League’s midseason showcase will take place at AMALIE Arena and will include the 2018 GEICO NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, Jan. 27 (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS) and 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 28 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).

More NHL All-Star Game coverage:
NHL announces details of 2018 All-Star Skills Competition
NHL reveals 2018 All-Star Game rosters; who missed out?

————

Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.