NHL All-Star skills contest participants chosen

Here's the lineup for the six events in the NHL's Super Skills contest Saturday at the RBC Center.

Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater -- Order determined on the ice

Team Staal                                                     Team Lidstrom
*Michael Grabner – New York Islanders           Duncan Keith – Chicago Blackhawks
Mike Green – Washington Capitals                  *Taylor Hall – Edmonton Oilers
Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks               Matt Duchene – Colorado Avalanche
Ryan Kesler – Vancouver Canucks                   Martin St. Louis – Tampa Bay Lightning
Marc Staal – New York Rangers                      Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins                  Keith Yandle – Phoenix Coyotes

The event will consist of six preliminary races with two players skating at one time taking one lap of the ice; the players from each team with the fastest time for their team will then meet in one final match race.  One of the races will be between two players skating backwards. 

BlackBerry NHL Breakaway Challenge

Former Duck Jean-Sebastien Giguere making best of imperfect situation

Having a Canadian team visit Staples Center always creates a buzz because so many former Canadian residents come out to cheer their old favorites. Also, there’s always a large media contingent and sense of excitement, which players seem to enjoy.

Monday’s visit by the Toronto Maple Leafs provided the bonus of a visit from Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the former Ducks goaltender who is one of the classiest people in this league--and any other.

Giguere, who became one of the few players voted the playoff MVP on a losing team after the Ducks’ seven-game loss to New Jersey in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals and led the Ducks to the Cup in 2007, was traded to Toronto last Jan. 31. He had lost the starting job to Jonas Hiller — who was added to the NHL All-Star team Monday — and his four-year, $24-million contract made him too expensive to be a backup.

He waived his no-trade clause to go to Toronto, where he was reunited with his former goalie coach, Francois Allaire, and former general manager, Brian Burke.

Things haven’t worked out exactly as planned this season for Giguere, whose contract expires July 1. Recurring groin problems have limited him to only 18 games, in which he has compiled a 2.80 goals-against average and .894 save percentage. And the emergence of youngster James Reimer — who was in goal for the Leafs’ 3-2 victory over the Kings on Monday — means Giguere likely won’t be back with the team next season.

But he is facing the circumstances with his usual good humor and optimism.

“I’m doing good personally. My family is great and I’m quite enjoying myself in Toronto,” Giguere said of his wife and two young sons.  “It’s been a good change for me but I’ve got an injury that keeps coming back. It’s been a bit of a pain but there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

He said he hopes to return Thursday at Phoenix. No matter where he goes he still keeps an eye on the Ducks and is happy for Hiller.

“I keep track of them from far and see how they’re doing,” he said. “I’m not surprised they’re doing well. They have a good team and obviously offensively they can do some damage. And when Jonas plays well he can make any team win. So it’s good to see that.”

Helene Elliott

NHL All-Star voting ends with Sidney Crosby at the top

 

After more than 14.3 million votes were tallied, Sidney Crosby and three of his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates are among the first six players (three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender) selected for the NHL All-Star game on Jan. 30.

Crosby, who leads the league in scoring, collected the most votes of anyone: 635,509. Joining him are
Penguins' forward Evgeni Malkin, defenseman Kris Letang and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Rounding out the first six are forward Jonathan Toews and defenseman Duncan Keith of the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks.

The remaining 36 All-stars will be selected by the NHL next week. Under a new format, the 42 selected players will cast their own votes to decide the captains and alternate captains of the two teams.

The appointed team leaders will then choose their own teams in a televised draft.

Though Crosby was the top vote-getter, Letang, a write-in candidate, was next highest with 477,960 votes.

Of the Ducks and Kings? Not enough votes to get in the top six.

For the Kings, the forward with the most votes was Anze Kopitar at 64,142; for the Ducks, it was Teemu Selanne at 43,873. The top Kings defenseman in terms of votes was Drew Doughty at 166, 489. For the Ducks, it was Cam Fowler, a write-in candidate, at 14,160. Also noteworthy: Kings defenseman Jack Johnson, also a write-in candidate, collected 22,641 votes.

Among goalies, Fleury had 426,305 votes. The Kings' Jonathan Quick came in ninth with 80,084, and the Ducks' superb net-minder Jonas Hiller deserved more than the 15,681 he received. He has had to face 1,159 shots against (more than any other goalie by far) yet still has 19 wins (tied for second in the league) and a 2.54 goal-against average (16th) and a remarkable .925 save percentage (fourth in the league).

Click here for the full lists of the final vote count: forwards and defensemen and goalies.

-- Debbie Goffa

Photo: Sidney Crosby. Credit:  Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press.

Final at Staples Center: Kings 4, Ducks 1

The Kings on Sunday picked up where they left off before the Christmas break. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they did the same.

Dustin Brown had a goal and an assist, Marco Sturm earned his first point as a King in his third game, and Jonathan Bernier stopped 18 shots to lead the Kings to a 4-1 victory before an announced standing-room-only crowd of 18,313 at Staples Center.

It was the fourth triumph in five games for the Kings (21-12-1) and fourth loss in five games for the Ducks (18-17-4).

All the scoring came during the second period.

The Kings struck first, 15 seconds in. Matt Greene took a shot from the right point that ended up in a crowd and was deflected by Kyle Clifford. Michal Handzus swatted at it but it went off the stick of Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler and to the left side of the slot. Wayne Simmonds was stationed there for the short shot and his eighth goal this season, although its only his first at home.

That lead didn’t last long. Ryan Getzlaf controlled the puck along the boards in the Kings’ zone and passed it to the blue line for Toni Lydman, whose long shot was deflected by Matt Beleskey at the 47-second mark.

A classic counterattack enabled the Kings to regain the lead at 9:10 of the second period. The Ducks had been putting some pressure on Bernier but Brown controlled the puck in his own zone and made a long lead pass to Anze Kopitar. Jonas Hiller stopped the first shot but the rebound went to the left side, where Sturm pounced on it. Hiller stopped that, too, but Kopitar potted the rebound to extend his team-leading goal total to 15.

A giveaway by the Ducks in their own zone created an opportunity for Justin Williams to score the Kings’ third goal, at 12:55. Joffrey Lupul had the puck in his feet but couldn’t play it cleanly, giving Williams the chance to steal it and walk in on Hiller until he was about 20 feet out and lift a wrist shot.

Good puck movement on the power play generated the Kings’ fourth goal, at 17:57 of the second period, the last shot Hiller saw before he was yanked and replaced by Curtis McElhinney. Jack Johnson, playing the left point, passed to Drew Doughty, who shot through a crowd. The puck came out to the slot, where Brown rifled it home for his 14th goal this season.

Look for more later at www.latimes.com/sports

--Helene Elliott

Photo: The Kings' Wayne Simmonds ends up on top of the Ducks' Corey Perry after the two squared off during the third period Sunday at Staples Center. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Drew Doughty, Teemu Selanne lead the local teams in NHL All-Star voting

The overall vote leader in the NHL's All-Star balloting is no surprise: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (pictured above). After two weeks of online voting, he now has 218,791 votes. 

The nicest surprise? The guy who jumped up to second place while no one was looking. That would be Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, whose 145,726 votes are the most among write-in candidates. That's right. Write-in. Price has been outstanding in goal so far this season.

Tampa Bay's scoring machine Steven Stamkos is third with 141,818 votes.  More than 6 million votes have been cast through last weekend.

But what about the Kings and Ducks?

Teemu Selanne is doing the best among Ducks with 25,545 votes. Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry aren't far behind him, though. Noteworthy write-in totals: goaltender Jonas Hiller has 9,791, Lubomir Visnovsky 7,137 and Cam Fowler 6,938.

The Kings?

Drew Doughty is leading the way with 94,606. Anze Kopitar has 31,923, while the very deserving Ryan Smith has 16,465. Noteworthy is team scoring leader Justin Williams as a write-in candidate with 8,486. Jonathan Quick comes in ninth among goaltenders with 40,140, while defenseman Jack Johnson has 12,871 write-in votes.

But it really makes you wonder what is going on when former Kings player Sean Avery (he currently ranks third in the league for penalty minutes) of the New York Rangers has 38,551 write-in votes. Even as a joke, this isn't funny.

Through Jan. 3, NHL fans will be able to select up to six players by position -- three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender -– without regard to the conference in which their teams play.

As part of a new format for the 2011 All-Star game, the three forwards, two defensemen and goalie with the most votes will be named first NHL All-Stars. Want to vote? Click here. Meanwhile, here are

Ducks' Hiller NHL's No. 2 star of the week

With the surging Ducks suddenly only six points out of a tie with the Kings for the final Western Conference playoff spot, Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller was named one of the NHL's "Three Stars" of the week today.

Hiller was selected the No. 2 star after stopping 125 of 131 shots and going 4-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage. He finished the week with a flourish, making 42 saves in a 3-1 road victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, the team with the best record in the NHL.

The Vancouver Canucks' Alex Burrows was chosen the No. 1 star by the league after recording consecutive hat tricks. Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Mathieu Garon was No. 3 after going 3-0-0 with a 1.46 GAA and a .940 save percentage.

The Ducks-Kings rivalry should be in full force Thursday at Staples Center. With the Ducks finally playing solidly and the Kings' hot start cooled, it appears they might be competing for a playoff spot at season's end.

-- Robyn Norwood

Photo: Jonas Hiller. Credit: Rob Grabowski / US Presswire