Holy Trinity: Kopitar, Doughty, Quick named to All-Star Game

The NHL announced its All-Star Game rosters today and revealed that Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick will be among the 11 players chosen to the Pacific Division team. With roster restrictions tightened by an eight-team Pacific Division and the need for all teams to be comprised of six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders, the Kings are the only Western Conference team to be represented by three players, and, with the host Tampa Bay Lightning, one of only two teams with more than two players selected.

The 63rd NHL All-Star tournament will begin Sunday, January 28 at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on NBC from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The three-on-three format will continue that of recent years, with winners of a pair of semi-final games between divisions meeting in a championship game in which a $1-million prize will be awarded. The skills competition will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 27 and will be broadcast by NBCSN.

Kopitar, 30, will be appearing in his fourth All-Star Game. A veteran of the 2008 (Atlanta), 2011 (Carolina) and 2015 (Columbus) exhibitions and the recipient of the 2015-16 Lady Byng and Selke Trophies, he was also named to the Young Stars Game at the 2007 All-Star Game in Dallas. Los Angeles’ captain has appeared in all 42 games this season, totaling 44 points (17-27=44), a plus-14 rating and 12 penalty minutes. He leads the team in points and assists and ranks second in goals. His four game-winning goals tie him with Doughty for the team lead. Among NHL forwards, he ranks second with 21:54 of ice time per game.

Doughty, 28, will be appearing in his fourth consecutive and overall All-Star Game, having participated in 2015 (Columbus), 2016 (Nashville) and 2017 (Los Angeles). The 2015-16 Norris Trophy winner and a 2017-18 alternate captain, Doughty was a first-team postseason All-Star in 2015-16 and named to the second team after the 2009-10 and 2014-15 seasons. He also participated in the Young Stars Game at the 2009 All-Star Game in Montreal. Doughty, who has appeared in 288 consecutive games, has 30 points (7-23=30), a plus-21 rating and 28 penalty minutes in 42 games this season. He leads the NHL with 27:10 of ice time per game and among NHL defensemen ranks tied for sixth with 30 points, tied for seventh with 23 assists and second with four game-winning goals. His plus-21 rating is tied for fourth among all NHL players.

Quick, who turns 32 on January 21, will be appearing in his third All-Star Game, having participated in the 2012 (Ottawa) and 2016 (Nashville) games. A second-team post-season NHL All-Star in 2011-12, Quick was the 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy and 2013-14 William M. Jennings Trophy recipient. In 34 games this season, he has a 19-13-2 record with a 2.31 goals-against average, a.926 save percentage and three shutouts. Among qualified goalies, he ranks tied for fifth in save percentage, sixth in goals-against average, tied for fourth in shutouts and tied for seventh in wins.

Pacific Division (All-Star appearance)
F Brock Boeser, VAN (1st)
F Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (4th)
F Anze Kopitar, LAK (4th)
F Connor McDavid, EDM* (2nd)
F James Neal, VGK (3rd)
F Rickard Rakell, ANA (1st)
D Brent Burns, SJS (5th)
D Drew Doughty, LAK (4th)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI (2nd)
G Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK (3rd)
G Jonathan Quick, LAK (3rd)
Head Coach: Gerard Gallant, VGK (2nd)

Central Division (All-Star appearance)
F Patrick Kane, CHI (7th)
F Nathan MacKinnon, COL (2nd)
F Brayden Schenn, STL (1st)
F Tyler Seguin, DAL (5th)
F Eric Staal, MIN (5th)
F Blake Wheeler, WPG (1st)
D John Klingberg, DAL (1st)
D Alex Pietrangelo, STL (1st)
D P.K. Subban, NSH* (3rd)
G Connor Hellebuyck, WPG (1st)
G Pekka Rinne, NSH (2nd)
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette, NSH (3rd)

Atlantic Division (All-Star appearance)
F Aleksander Barkov, FLA (1st)
F Jack Eichel, BUF (1st)
F Nikita Kucherov, TBL (2nd)
F Brad Marchand, BOS (2nd)
F Auston Matthews, TOR (2nd)
F Steven Stamkos, TBL* (5th)
D Mike Green, DET (2nd)
D Victor Hedman, TBL (2nd)
D Erik Karlsson, OTT (5th)
G Carey Price, MTL (6th)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (1st)
Head Coach: Jon Cooper, TBL (1st)

Metropolitan Division (All-Star appearance)
F Josh Bailey, NYI (1st)
F Sidney Crosby, PIT (3rd)
F Claude Giroux, PHI (5th)
F Taylor Hall, NJD (3rd)
F Alex Ovechkin, WSH* (7th)
F John Tavares, NYI (5th)
D Noah Hanifin, CAR (1st)
D Seth Jones, CBJ (2nd)
D Kris Letang, PIT (4th)
G Braden Holtby, WSH (3rd)
G Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (4th)
Head Coach: Barry Trotz, WSH (3rd)

-Lead photo via Steve Babineau/NHLI