All-Star achievement
Vincent Lecavalier is starting for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, and linemate Martin St. Louis was added to the roster a few days later.
Not bad for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who entered the weekend with the second fewest points in the NHL and the worst mark in the East.
“He’s on a team that is struggling. I think that has hurt him,” Lightning coach John Tortorella said of Lecavalier’s support. “I think he is the best player in the league.”
Through Tampa Bay’s first 44 games, Lecavalier had 28 goals and an NHL-best 63 points. He might be having an all-around better season than last year when he led the league with 52 goals.
And that didn’t go unnoticed.
Lecavalier received 224,661 votes in fan balloting, second only to Sidney Crosby among Eastern forwards.
“To be voted in is really special,” Lecavalier said. “When you play with Martin St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal, as a line I think we have great chemistry. That brings your numbers up.
“I try to get better every year and hopefully I’m going to finish the year strong.”
It’s not easy to gain attention and support while playing for a last-place team in the Southeast Division, as opposed to Original Six clubs or those in hockey hotbed cities in Canada.
“I think the league pushed it that way, too,” Tortorella said. “We are in a nontraditional market down there although we have won a Stanley Cup. Some of these other teams haven’t won a Stanley Cup in an awful long time.”
The Southeast produced back-to-back champions in 2004 and 2006 when Tampa Bay and Carolina hoisted the trophy on either side of the lockout. No Canadian team has won the Cup since Montreal in 1993.
“It’s good for our organization,” Tortorella said of the All-Star selections. “We have some good players here. We have struggled this year in trying to find our way. Martin St. Louis doesn’t get enough credit as far as what he is doing.”
St. Louis is second on the club to Lecavalier with 51 points.
Islanders 3, Senators 1: Marc-Andre Bergeron got his second power-play goal of the game early in the third and Mike Comrie scored later in the period, leading the New York Islanders to a win over Ottawa in Ottawa.
Flyers 6, Capitals 4: Mike Knuble had his first two-goal game of the season, and Philadelphia beat Washington in Washington for their seventh win in nine games.
Avalanche 4, Panthers 3 (SO): Milan Hejduk scored the winning goal in the shootout to lift Colorado to a victory over Florida in Sunrise, Fla. Andrew Brunette had two goals for the Avalanche, which dealt the Panthers their sixth straight home loss.
Blackhawks 3, Predators 2 (SO): Patrick Sharp scored a second-period goal and then netted the winner in the shootout, sending Chicago to a win over Nashville in Nashville, Tenn.
Wild 4, Coyotes 1: Josh Harding stopped 26 shots and Minnesota beat Phoenix in St. Paul, Minn. Pavol Demitra, James Sheppard, Eric Belanger and Marian Gaborik scored for the Wild, who have won three straight.
Canucks 4, Blues 3 (SO): Daniel and Henrik Sedin combined for five points, and Alex Edler decided a shootout in Vancouver’s victory over St. Louis in St. Louis. Edler was the Canucks’ second shooter and beat Manny Legace to the stick side.
Ducks 4, Sharks 3 (OT): Doug Weight tied the game with 28 seconds left in regulation and Francois Beauchemin scored 33 seconds into overtime to give Anaheim a victory over San Jose in Anaheim, Calif.
Oilers 2, Flames 1: Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff each had a goal and an assist and Edmonton stretched its winning streak to a season-high four games by beating Calgary in Edmonton, Alberta.