This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
I'm of two minds about the NHL All-Star Game.
I think it's silly and it's not that much fun to watch. But I also think that's ok. It's not for me. It's mostly for kids, casual fans and for the city in which it's hosted. On that last point, I think it's particularly great for small market teams that get to have the Stanley Cup come to town, the skills competition and a couple days of the league's biggest stars shaking hands and signing autographs.
That's fine. I don't want to watch, but that's fine.
The move to a 3-on-3 tournament? Fine. Another effort to make it a little more fun. I'm good with that.
But players seem to be less interested this year than ever before. With the removal of the player draft at the players' request -- again, understandable -- there's less off-ice entertainment to be had. Worse, no one seems to want to play in the game.
Erik Karlsson and Dustin Byfuglien have been vocal about hating 3-on-3.
John Scott -- yes, that John Scott -- is the subject of a campaign to get a pugilist into the 3-on-3 tournament. (As of Wednesday night he had the most fan votes of any player.) But he's not very interested in going, telling >AZ Central's Sarah McLellan:
I don't want to have my name in the headlines for this reason... Like, it's a fun little thing and hopefully it'll die down over time. It's not something -- I definitely don't want to be voted into the All-Star Game.
Zemgus Girgensons told Latvian voters on Twitter not to vote him in this year, because it has to be earned.
Visu cieņu faniem, bet lūdzu šogad nebalsot par mani zvaigžņu spēlē! Šādas lietas ir jānopelna!
— Zemgus Girgensons (@zemgus94) December 2, 2015And Jaromir Jagr isn't interested in playing either.
Fans-I appreciate your votes for All-Star game, but 3 on 3 would kill me,and i don't want to die yet:)Thank you for understanding. Too old:)
— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) December 2, 2015... though Teemu Selanne thinks he should play.
@68Jagr I vote you bud! You are not that old yet! And you are SO much smarter than this days kids anyway!!! Keep it rolling my friend!👍👏💪🇨🇿
— Teemu Selanne (@TeemuSel8nne) December 3, 2015...and maybe that's enough for Jagr.
@TeemuSel8nne :))) I do it for you, but if they decide, it's not good and change it again in 2026 to play 2 on 2-i'm not going:) too old 54
— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) December 3, 2015Yeah, Girgensons isn't one of the best players in the league. No, Scott doesn't have offensive skills. Yes, 3-on-3 might kill Jagr. But if the point of the game isn't a high-level of competition, and it definitely isn't, then there's nothing wrong with Girgensons being in there if enough people want him there. If he bumps Nicklas Backstrom from yet another appearance, so be it.
Watching a guy like Girgensons at the All-Star Game with a smile on his face is a lot more fun than watching some dour-faced superstar.
The All-Star Game is a joke and if we can't smile at it, then why have it? Why don't we just vote in the most fun players? Make sure Roberto Luongo gets in. Cal Clutterbuck should be there. Ryan Kesler. Even though he hasn't played in the NHL this season, Paul Bissonnette is in. P.K. Subban. Brent Burns. Tyler Seguin. Evander Kane. Bring Ilya Bryzgalov back. And, yes, you Jaromir Jagr.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Rangers (Antti Raanta), 7:00 PM
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Hurricanes (Eddie Lack), 7:00 PM
Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Canadiens (Mike Condon), 7:30 PM
Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Red Wings (Jimmy Howard), 7:30 PM
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Maple Leafs (James Reimer) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
Stars (Antti Niemi) at Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Colorado Avalanche
Alex Tanguay, LW (knee) - is expected to return Thursday
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) - remains out
Ben Street, C (chest) - was placed on IR
New York Rangers
Derek Stepan, C (ribs) - will miss four-to-six weeks
Emerson Etem, RW (illness) - sat out of Wednesday's game
Kevin Klein, D (oblique) - will miss a couple weeks
New Jersey Devils
Jiri Tlusty, LW (shoulder) - is without a timetable for return
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) - is out of his walking boot
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski, D (ACL) - will be out for a long time
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) - remains out
Washington Capitals
Brooks Orpik, D (lower body) - will not travel with the team
Montreal Canadiens
Alexander Semin, LW (undisclosed) - remains on injured reserve
Carey Price, G (leg) - will miss at least another five weeks
Torrey Mitchell, C (lower body) - missed Tuesday's game
Zack Kassian, RW (suspension) - remains suspended by the team
Michael Bournival, C (concussion) - has returned to practice, but was waived on Wednesday
Brendan Gallagher, RW (hand) - has undergone surgery will miss more than a month
Chicago Blackhawks
Healthy
Ottawa Senators
Andrew Hammond, G (head) - has suffered a setback in his recovery
Chris Phillips, D )back) - is still week-to-week
Milan Michalek, LW (finger) - is out indefinitely
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - is out
Mika Zibanejad, C (head) - left Tuesday's game after taking a shot to the head
Arizona Coyotes
Shane Doan, RW (lower body) - didn't play Tuesday
Steve Downie, RW (upper body) - didn't play Tuesday
Joe Vitale, C (fractured orbital bone) - remains out
Dylan Reese, D (Achilles) - is out indefinitely
Detroit Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) - is on long-term injured reserve
Kyle Quincey, D (ankle) - will miss a couple months
Florida Panthers
Nick Bjugstad, C (upper body) - is undergoing tests, but has been ruled out of the next two games
Alex Petrovic, D (foot) - went out on Nov. 28 and was expected to miss a week
Dmitry Kulikov, D (lower body) - is expected to return in one of the next two games
Nashville Predators
Carter Hutton, G (lower body) - practiced this week
Mike Fisher, C (lower body) - has been placed on IR
Paul Gaustad, C (upper body) - remains on IR
Colin Wilson, LW (lower body) - missed Tuesday's game
Miikka Salomaki, RW - is on IR
Gabriel Bourque, LW (lower body) - has been placed on IR
Petter Granberg, D (Achilles) - was claimed by the Predators off waivers, but not activated
Toronto Maple Leafs
Joffrey Lupul, LW (lower body) - was placed on IR yesterday
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) - is without a timetable for return
Minnesota Wild
Tyler Graovac, C (sports hernia) - has started skating again, but isn't ready to return
Dallas Stars
Travis Moen, LW (upper body) - appears capable of returning, but has been a scratch since getting healthy
Jason Demers, D (upper body) - is listed as day-to-day
Vancouver Canucks
Jake Virtanen, LW (upper body) - did not play Tuesday
Ben Hutton, D (lower body) - has returned to practice, but the team hasn't given a timetable for return
Chris Tanev, D (hand) - didn't play Tuesday
Brandon Sutter, C (abdomen) - underwent surgery and will miss at least four weeks
Chris Higgins, LW (undisclosed) - missed Tuesday's game
Hot
Mathieu Perreault, C, WPG — Perreault is not only collecting all the vowels, he's grabbing a good deal of points, currently riding a four-game point streak. He's got two goals and three assists over that stretch. He is finding a rhythm and after two straight seasons of 18 goals in under 70 games and he's a solid depth addition to most rosters.
Loui Eriksson, RW, BOS — At 30, he's on pace to post his first 30-goal season since the 2008-09 season. He's also on pace for 72 points (as a per-game rate). That would be a career-best. Is it likely that he continues it and has his most productive season ever at age 30? It doesn't happen often, but it's not impossible. His 20.9% shooting percentage is likely to come down some and at his current shot rate a drop toward league average would mean that he's in the high 20s instead of over 30. Nonetheless, he's been productive all season. Those point totals aren't reliant on a streak, so that's a good sign. Though he's been hot lately too with four goals and five assists over his last eight games.
Cold
Ryan Callahan, LW, TBL — Callahan finished Wednesday's game with no points, no shots, an even plus/minus... the only indication that he was in the game from the boxscore is that he logged minutes. It hasn't been quite that bad regularly, but the former 29-goal scorer hasn't scored a goal in 12 games and has just two assists in that span.
Chris Kreider, LW, NYR — No one is more aware of Chris Kreider's scoring struggles than Chris Kreider. He's a diligent student and watches a ton of tape. That's good for a guy who is trying to get out of a funk. There was some hope that a goal in Monday's game may have gotten the monkey off his back, but he went pointless again in Wednesday's 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders. Over the last eight games he has one goal and no assists, with an average of under two shots per game.
Recommended Pickup
Jonathan Drouin, LW, TBL — Drouin returned from injury on Wednesday, scoring a goal and an assist and looking wildly dynamic. He appears to be fully healthy and dangerous. He hasn't quite lived up to his pedigree yet, but his talent level is high and he may be ready to help rekindle Tampa's dormant offense.
