NHL All Star Game 2018
SteemSports Presenter:@theprophet0
SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets
It is All Star weekend ladies and gentleman, and not only for the NHL, but the NFL as well. Beginning in 2015, the NHL All Star game had a major shake-up in the format of how it works. Instead of one game pitted against two teams, there would be four All-Star teams based on the league's four divisions, competing in a single elimination tournament. The format of all three games in the tournament will be three-on-three, with 10-minute halves each. If a tie remains after 20 minutes, then it will directly go to a three-round shootout plus extra rounds as needed to determine the winner; there is no standard overtime.
In 2016, the Atlantic Division All-Stars faced the Metropolitan Division All-Stars in one semifinal, while the Central Division All-Stars played against the Pacific Division All-Stars in the second semifinal. The winners of these two games then meet in an All Star Game Final Since 2017, the format was slightly changed: the division that wins the NHL All Star Skills Challenge during the previous night then gets to pick which team they will play first in the semifinals.
Sunday's All Star game will take place at the home of the Lightning, down in Tampa Bay. The Atlantic Division All Star team has many familiar faces with four Lightning stars of it's own. Kucherov, who is arguably the best player in the NHL will be a starter, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Point will act as a reserve, and Vasilevskiy will be starting in front of the pipes. The Metropolitan division will be the "visiting" team facing off against the Atlantic. Crosby and Ovechkin, two of the best players in NHL history will be hitting the ice on the same time, which has happened a countless number of times, but very scarcely on the same team. I'd predict Atlantic to have the upper advantage of the Metropolitian mainly because they will have the home crowd on their side.
The other game will consist of the Central and Pacific Divisions. Kane, MacKinnon who is riding a seven game point streak, and Seguin are the most common names amongst the Central division. I'd say that the Central team has a more mediocre team, compared to the Metropolitan, but that is not bad as the talent is spread across all lines. The Pacific division is dominated by McDavid, Gaudrea, and Burns. All in all, this is going to be a fantastic All Star event and I am eager to see who will take part in the Championship.
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Nice post steemsports