Ovechkin is lone Cap on Eastern Conference roster
They may have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, but a numbers crunch left the Capitals with just one NHL All-Star on Thursday.
Star left wing Alex Ovechkin will participate for the third time, of course — even if he wasn’t voted to the starting lineup. But defenseman Mike Green and center Nicklas Backstrom were both left off the Eastern Conference squad for the Jan. 25 game at Bell Centre in Montreal.
That wasn’t a complete surprise. Montreal, the host team, and Pittsburgh, the defending conference champs, combined to have six players voted into the starting lineup through fan balloting. That left no place on the 21-man All-Star roster for Green, who missed 13 games with a shoulder injury, or Backstrom, 20, who could still play in the YoungStars event the day before. Neither player expressed much disappointment after Thursday’s practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.
“I would have been honored to go,” said Green, who leads all NHL defensemen in points per game at .93. “But I’m not going to say that I deserved to go.”
If the Caps (27-11-3, 57 points) win tonight’s home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets (18-18-4, 40 points) or on the road Saturday at Montreal, coach Bruce Boudreau will be the assistant coach for the Eastern Conference. That honor goes to the coach whose team has the second-best conference winning percentage as of Jan. 10.
“You like to have your players get recognized for doing something really well,” Boudreau said. “We know on merit that [Backstrom] and [Green] and maybe Alex Semin should all be on that [team]. But that’s not how the scenario goes. And it’s not because they don’t deserve it.”
Ovechkin was one of 15 reserves added to the roster on Thursday. The Western Conference’s 15 reserves were finalized on Wednesday. All starters were named last week.
“I know it’s going to be a sick atmosphere,” said Ovechkin, who shares the NHL lead with 27 goals and ranks second in points with 53. He will also participate in the Honda/NHL Superskills Competition the night before the All-Star game.
The All-Star news overshadowed an interesting day of practice as the Caps prepared for a rematch vs. Columbus, which took a 3-0 meeting between the two teams on Nov. 29. Washington is almost full strength for the first time in weeks. Forward Sergei Fedorov (ankle sprain) is eligible to return from the Long Term Injured Reserve list today and forward Tomas Fleischmann has recovered from pneumonia. That would leave defensemen John Erskine (concussion) and Tom Poti (groin) as the remaining injured players.
But with little salary-cap space available, if the Caps do activate Fedorov and his $4 million salary they may have to make a roster move to keep rookie defenseman Karl Alzner around. Options could include placing Poti on Long Term Injured Reserve or simply returning Alzner – a steady presence in the lineup since his NHL debut on Nov. 26 – to AHL Hershey.
“I’d like to be available,” said Fedorov, who has missed 26 of 29 games. “I feel good enough.”
Meanwhile, for the first time in weeks, a pair of healthy players will be scratched if both Fedorov and Fleischmann return to the lineup. Veterans Michael Nylander and Chris Clark were each part of different four-man lines during Thursday’s practice.
The Caps posted a forgettable effort in the first meeting with Columbus. But they may have caught a break this time. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the Blue Jackets will be without star forward Rick Nash (left knee sprain), who has 17 goals, 22 assists this season and has scored two goals in a game against the Caps three different times.
Caps notes
» The American Hockey League announced on Thursday that four members of the Hershey Bears — the Caps’ top minor-league affiliate — will participate in the AHL All-Star game on Jan. 26.
» Forwards Keith Aucoin and Chris Bourque will play for PlanetUSA. Forward Alexandre Giroux and defenseman Bryan Helmer will play for Team Canada, which will be coached by Hershey head coach Bob Woods and assistant Mark French.
