55th National Hockey League All-Star Game

The 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game was played on January 24, 2007 in Dallas , Texas . It was the first All-Star Game since the 2003/04 season , as the 2004/05 season was canceled due to the lockout and none was played in 2005/06 because of the 2006 Winter Olympics .

The event, which was held at the American Airlines Center , was attended by the best players from the National Hockey League . In addition to the All-Star Game, in which the best players from the Western Conference competed against the best players from the Eastern Conference , there were other events on the days before, such as the YoungStars Game or the SuperSkills Competition, in which the players test their skills could prove different areas, such as shot strength or speed.

The starting formations of the All-Star Teams could be determined by the fans by January 2, 2007 via a vote on the NHL homepage. On January 9, the starting formations of both teams, each consisting of one goalkeeper, two defenders and three forwards, were announced. The other players were determined by the coaches of the two teams and announced on January 13th.

The teams that led the two conferences on January 5th provided the coaches for both All-Star teams. Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabers was in charge of the Eastern Conference team, Randy Carlyle of the Anaheim Ducks that of the Western Conference. Carlyle was assisted by the Nashville Predators head coach, Barry Despite , Ruff was assisted by Bob Hartley of the Atlanta Thrashers .

Teams

Eastern Conference Head Coach : Lindy Ruff , Buffalo Sabers assistant coach : Bob Hartley , Atlanta Thrashers # country player Item team goalkeeper 30th Ryan Miller Buffalo Sabers 30th Martin Brodeur New Jersey Devils 39 Cristobal Huet Montréal Canadiens defender 51 Brian Campbell Buffalo Sabers 44 Sheldon Souray Montréal Canadiens 3 Jay Bouwmeester Florida panthers 33 Zdeno Chára Boston Bruins 15th Tomáš Kaberle Toronto Maple Leafs 28 Brian Rafalski New Jersey Devils attacker 87 Sidney Crosby C. Pittsburgh Penguins 48 Daniel Brière C. Buffalo Sabers 8th Alexander Ovechkin LW Washington Capitals 55 Jason Blake LW New York Islanders 12 Simon Gagné LW Philadelphia Flyers 16 Dany Heatley RW Ottawa Senators 18th Marián Hossa RW Atlanta Thrashers 4th Vincent Lecavalier C. Tampa Bay Lightning 26th Martin St. Louis RW Tampa Bay Lightning 14th Brendan Shanahan - C. LW New York Rangers 21st Eric Staal C. Carolina Hurricanes 11 Justin Williams RW Carolina Hurricanes

Western Conference Head Coach : Randy Carlyle , Anaheim Ducks assistant coach : Barry Trotz , Nashville Predators # country player Item team goalkeeper 1 Roberto Luongo Vancouver Canucks 34 Miikka Kiprusoff Calgary Flames 35 Marty Turco Dallas Stars defender - Scott Niedermayer Anaheim Ducks 5 Nicklas Lidström Detroit Red Wings 43 Philippe Boucher Dallas Stars 3 Dion Phaneuf Calgary Flames 44 Kimmo Timonen Nashville Predators 17th Ľubomír Višňovský Los Angeles Kings 55 Ed Jovanovski Phoenix Coyotes attacker 97 Joe Thornton C. San Jose Sharks 19th Joe Sakic - C. C. Colorado Avalanche 14th Jonathan Cheechoo RW San Jose Sharks 13 Bill Guerin RW St. Louis Blues 24 Martin Havlát RW Chicago Blackhawks 10 Patrick Marleau C. San Jose Sharks 61 Rick Nash LW Columbus Blue Jackets 94 Yanic Perreault C. Phoenix Coyotes 12 Brian Rolston C. Minnesota Wild 8th Teemu Selänne RW Anaheim Ducks 93 Ryan Smyth LW Edmonton Oilers - Henrik Zetterberg LW Detroit Red Wings 20th Andy McDonald C. Anaheim Ducks

Fat: player in the starting line-up

1. ↑ took the place in the starting line-up for the injured Scott Niedermayer
2. ↑ nominated to replace the injured Scott Niedermayer
3. ↑ nominated to replace the injured Henrik Zetterberg

G = goalkeeper; D = defender; C = center; LW / RW = winger

Rory Fitzpatrick

With Rory Fitzpatrick in the vote for the All-Star Game, a player was in the meantime in second place among the defenders of the Western Conference, who had not scored a scorer point in the season and had not made any particularly noticeable performances. The result was due to a campaign launched by a group of fans that found more and more supporters. The aim of the campaign was to show the NHL in this way that the new voting system, in which every fan can vote as often as they want, has weaknesses. The aim should be to choose a player who is far from being an all-star player on the starting line-up for one of the two teams. The campaign received criticism, including from Wayne Gretzky , others supported the campaign because they believed that a hard-working player who is not in the spotlight deserves to be recognized for his work. When the starting line-up of the All-Star teams was announced on January 9, 2007, it was announced that Fitzpatrick had received 550,177 votes, but only finished third with 23,000 votes behind second place. This made it clear that he would not take part in the All-Star Game, as it was not expected that he would be appointed to the squad by the coaches of the Western Conference.

SuperSkills Competition

In the SuperSkills Competition, which took place the day before the All-Star Game, the players had to prove their skills in different areas, such as speed, puck control or shot hardness. The players of the Eastern Conference competed against those of the Western Conference.

winner

Final result: Eastern Conference 15 - 11 Western Conference

competition	Team ranking	Individual evaluation
Puck control	Eastern Conference	Rick Nash
speed	Western Conference	Andy McDonald
Shootout round 1	Western Conference	-
Shot hardness	Eastern Conference	Zdeno Chára
Shootout round 2	Eastern Conference	-
Shooting accuracy	Eastern Conference	Eric Staal / Marián Hossa
Shootout round 3	Western Conference	-
One-on-one shootout	Eastern Conference	Sidney Crosby
Best goalkeeper	-	Roberto Luongo

All-Star Game

After winning the SuperSkills Competition, the Eastern Conference had to admit defeat in the All-Star Game with 9-12. The outstanding player was Daniel Brière , who despite the defeat for the Eastern Conference scored five points and was voted MVP of the All-Star Game. Could stand out also , Joe Sakic , Marian Hossa , Rick Nash and Brian Rolston , who could shine with four points each. On the other hand, the game was disappointing for the two players who got the most votes in the fan poll. Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby , the leader of the scorer list at the time of the event, could not contribute either a goal or an assist. As expected, the goalkeepers didn't have much to laugh about and had to pull the puck out of the gate several times. Superstar goalkeeper Martin Brodeur alone conceded six goals. Each goalkeeper was allowed to play a third.

Eastern Conference 9-12 Western Conference

All-Star Game MVP : Daniel Brière (1 goal, 4 assists)

team	time	was standing	scorer	Submitter	Submitter
1st third
	3:38	1–0	Daniel Brière	Dany Heatley	Marián Hossa
	5:08	1-1	Yanic Perreault	Brian Rolston	Bill Guerin
	6:17	1-2	Teemu Selänne
	13:07	2–2	Martin St. Louis	Vincent Lecavalier	Brian Rafalski
	13:43	3–2	Eric Staal	Justin Williams	Jason Blake
	18:55	3–3	Ľubomír Višňovský	Joe Sakic	Rick Nash
2nd third
	22:41	3-4	Patrick Marleau	Jonathan Cheechoo	Nicklas Lidström
	25:19	4-4	Justin Williams	Jason Blake
	26:29	5-4	Zdeno Chára	Daniel Brière	Brian Rafalski
	28:30	5-5	Brian Rolston
	30:40	5-6	Rick Nash	Joe Sakic	Dion Phaneuf
	31:34	5-7	Martin Havlát	Joe Sakic	Rick Nash
	32:47	5-8	Yanic Perreault	Bill Guerin	Brian Rolston
	33:32	6-8	Alexander Ovechkin	Daniel Brière	Sheldon Souray
	38:58	6-9	Brian Rolston	Ed Jovanovski
3rd third
	42:01	7-9	Dany Heatley	Daniel Brière	Marián Hossa
	47:12	7-10	Rick Nash	Joe Sakic	Martin Havlát
	50:37	8-10	Zdeno Chára	Marián Hossa	Daniel Brière
	59:00	8-11	Martin Havlát	Ryan Smyth	Ed Jovanovski
	59:25	9-11	Sheldon Souray	Marián Hossa	Dany Heatley
	59:48	9-12	Dion Phaneuf	Ľubomír Višňovský

YoungStars Game

Eastern Conference # country player Item team goalkeeper 32 Kari Lehtonen Atlanta Thrashers defender 52 Mike Green * Washington Capitals 14th Andrej Meszároš Ottawa Senators 54 Paul Ranger Tampa Bay Lightning 19th Ryan Whitney Pittsburgh Penguins attacker 44 Patrick Eaves RW Ottawa Senators 81 Phil Kessel * C. Boston Bruins 71 Yevgeny Malkin * C. Pittsburgh Penguins 9 Zach Parise C. New Jersey Devils 11 Jordan Staal * C. Pittsburgh Penguins 10 Alexander Steen C. Toronto Maple Leafs 26th Thomas Vanek LW Buffalo Sabers

Western Conference # country player Item team goalkeeper 31 Peter Budaj Colorado Avalanche defender 18th Matt Carle * San Jose Sharks 7th Brent Seabrook Chicago Blackhawks 5 Ladislav Šmíd Edmonton Oilers 6th Shea Weber Nashville Predators attacker 15th Ryan Getzlaf C. Anaheim Ducks 36 Jussi Jokinen LW Dallas Stars 11 Anže Kopitar * C. Los Angeles Kings 47 Alexander Radulov * RW Nashville Predators 12 Lee Stempniak RW St. Louis Blues 8th Wojtek Wolski * LW Colorado Avalanche

Bold: player in the starting line-up
* rookie
G = goalkeeper; D = defender; C = center; LW / RW = winger

The game

Eastern Conference 9 - 8 Western Conference

YoungStars Game MVP : Zach Parise (2 goals, 4 assists)

The playing time was three thirds of 10 minutes

Third results: 3–2, 3–1, 3–5

Web links

• Official website of the NHL All-Star Game
• Highlights of the All-Star Games
• Highlights of the YoungStars Game