Faceoff Factor

Faceoff-Factor All Stars: Eastern Conference

Michael Farkas | National Hockey League

Jan 24, 02:17 AM | Hype this story!

NHL All-Star weekend is upon us. As more and more players back out due to injury or other issues the rosters have taken a bit of a hit. I’ll use the powers granted to me by Faceoff Factor to create my own Faceoff Factor All-Star rosters and YoungStars rosters.

It should also be noted that I don’t play that “everyone’s a winner” game. So, if a team is not represented that’s okay with me, we’ll still remember they exist.

Eastern Conference

Forwards:

First Line: Ilya Kovalchuk – Sidney Crosby – Daniel Alfredsson

Atlanta Thrasher Ilya Kovalchuk has been an absolute dynamo this year. He’s been a force all over the ice, the only real distinguishable player on the ice for Atlanta this season.

Sidney Crosby from the Penguins gets a slight nod over Vincent Lecavalier (my first draft had Lecavalier here actually, it was that close). Crosby is working with so little around him and is always making something out of nothing on a relatively lackluster Penguin roster. 63 points in just 46 games at 20 years old is an astonishing feat.

Danny Alfredsson is striving to take the Senators to the next level. His 29 goals and 60 points in 46 games is a good start. Alfredsson is out there doing it all again for the Sens, including penalty killing, he has seven shorthanded points this year, the most in the Eastern Conference.

Second Line: Alexander Ovechkin – Vincent Lecavalier – Martin St. Louis

What more can be said about Alexander Ovechkin, it’s a crime that he’s even on the second line. Another case of a player making something out of nothing (and even less now that Nylander’s season is over). Ovechkin is a world-class talent and he shows it every night in the nation’s capital.

Vincent Lecavalier, what a year for Vinny. He has certainly silenced any doubters of his ability. I’m not so sure you can say with complete confidence that Sidney Crosby is the best player in the league right now because of what Lecavalier can do on the ice. Lecavalier has some great linemates but that shouldn’t take away from the havoc he is wreaking on opponents’ defenses.

Martin St. Louis is Lecavalier’s partner in crime in Tampa Bay. St. Louis is out there in all situations for Tampa Bay and logs huge minutes for the Lightning. Sometimes he is overlooked among the league’s best wingers and that’s a travesty.

Third Line: Dany Heatley – Evgeni Malkin – Alexei Kovalev

Dany Heatley is on pace to hit about 50 goals again for the third straight season. I think that says it all, but if it’s not, here’s a tidbit: Dany Heatley has just 14 of his 56 points coming from the power play, the least among the league’s 30 best scorers.

Evgeni Malkin gets moved up to the third line in place of Jason Spezza because of the way he’s already stepped in for Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh. Malkin is now faced with the same unfortunate development that Crosby has had. He is largely overlooked because he plays second fiddle to Sidney Crosby, he is a first line center on almost every other team in the NHL.

Canadiens winger Alexei Kovalev really does not get a lot of attention anymore. I think he’s been a big time bright spot for the Montreal Canadiens and seems to show a little more heart than he has in past years. He’s on pace for 75 points, a number he has not hit since his last year in Pittsburgh (the year he was traded to the Rangers), 2002-03.

Fourth Line: Zach Parise – Mike Richards – Nathan Horton

Devils forward Zach Parise has been wonderful this year despite a recent slump. The Devils offense takes a hit year after year and many fans were wondering if the Devils lost too many players this time around. Parise comes in a saves the day, he has registered nearly a point per game despite only scoring 4 points in his last 8 games before the Flyers game on Tuesday night.

Mike Richards has been amazing this year for the Flyers. He has been all over the ice for Philadelphia and putting pucks in the net like there’s no tomorrow. Richards is a great example of a player that exceeded his expectations by a great deal and has already been handsomely rewarded for doing so.

Nathan Horton makes it for two reasons, I’m using natural positions to make lines, there’s at least three players I’d like to put in before Horton, but Horton plays on the right frequently. That was no disrespect to Horton, who is one of my personal favorites, it’s just difficult for him to generate much of anything on the perennial underachievers, the Florida Panthers.

Injury Replacements:

In place of Sidney Crosby, I’ll take Boston Bruins center Marc Savard. Savard has top five on-ice vision and creativity in the league. He makes something out of very little in Boston and his 43 assists in 47 games tells me that he just might be one of the league’s best passers…surprise, surprise.

To replace the injured Dany Heatley, I can’t. If I absolutely must take a left wing, it’s Marco Sturm or the small sample size of Simon Gagne. But I’m going to go in a different direction, I’ll take Maple Leaf legend Mats Sundin. Sundin has little talent around him, and he really churns out points on all cylinders like he has his entire career.

Defensemen:

First pairing: Sergei Gonchar – Andrei Markov

Gonchar has been remarkable again offensively this year, leading all Eastern Conference defensemen in points. He has quarterbacked the Penguins power play quite well and has not been the biggest liability on the ice (compared to other offensive defenseman) defensively.

Andrei Markov has humble beginnings. He was drafted as a center in the sixth round of 1998 draft by Montreal. He has since evolved into a top ten defenseman in the NHL. The Habs blueliner is a great all-around threat on the ice.

Second pairing: Tomas Kaberle – Zdeno Chara

Tomas Kaberle is the lone rock on defense for Kaberle. Kaberle’s offensive instincts have helped the team’s offense greatly and his defensive prowess has kept Bryan McCabe above water. Another top ten defenseman in the league.

Zdeno Chara got off to a slow start in Boston since his big contract. However, Claude Julien has installed a system there that clearly benefits the goaltenders, and makes good use of Chara. The hulking d-man has really settled in nicely in Boston.

Third pairing: Mike Green – Braydon Coburn

Mike Green did not start the season on a lot of hockey fans’ radars. He’s on it now. The former first round pick leads all defensemen in goals with 14 and has been a big bright spot on an otherwise sagging and quite unknown Washington blueline.

Coburn has been brilliant for the Flyers this season. He has posted a lot of points from moving the puck incredibly well and playing great defensively. From square one I thought the Thrashers got ripped off, and Coburn is well on his way to fulfilling his potential as a first pairing defenseman.

Goaltenders:

Starter: Martin Brodeur

Rumors of his demise have been grossly exaggerated. He’s still the best goalie in the league, maybe the best ever. No matter how many Hall of Fame and/or All-Star defensemen vacate the blueline in front of him.

Backups: Cristobal Huet – Martin Gerber

Cristobal Huet, no matter what, never gets recognized among the game’s best. He’s way up there in my book and he shows this year after year, if he can stay injury free, he’ll make Montreal (or any other team) very happy with their choice.

Martin Gerber had one bad month for the Ottawa Senators last year and was quickly disposed of in the minds of hockey fans. Gerber always has been a great goalie in the regular season. He easily swiped his job back from his inferior and is ready to lead the Sens to, at least, regular season greatness.

Injury replacement:

To replace the irreplaceable Martin Brodeur, I’ll take Rick DiPietro from the New York Islanders. DiPietro has developed from some very shaky days in his early 20’s to an outstanding goaltender on a team that is lacking defensively. Actually, that team is lacking all-around, if it wasn’t for DiPietro the Islanders would already be setting up their place at the first draft table.

Western Conference All-Stars and YoungStars rosters to follow, stay tuned.