On Friday, the KHL announced the starting units for their All-Star game.

Since there will be no NHL All-Star game this year because of the Olympics, the NHL on TSN panel deliberated over who they would select to take the ice on the first line, if there were an All-Star game in 2010.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Position Player Team

G Miikka Kiprusoff Calgary Flames
LD Duncan Keith Chicago Blackhawks
RD Dan Boyle San Jose Sharks
LW Patrick Marleau San Jose Sharks
C Henrik Sedin Vancouver Canucks
RW Patrick Kane Chicago Blackhawks
7th Stephane Robidas Dallas Stars

Matthew Barnaby – Kiprusoff is a great goaltender, his numbers are great, but to me I look at Phoenix and where they were at the start of the year, really in disarray. Ilya Bryzgalov has carried this team on his back all year long. They sit fifth in the Western Conference and he absolutely should be the starting goaltender for the Western Conference.

Darren Dreger – It’s not a popularity contest. Miikka Kiprusoff, as you point out, his numbers are better, his save percentage is better. If he had any help from the Calgary Flames’ special teams he would have more wins.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Position Player Team

G Ryan Miller Buffalo Sabres
LD Chris Pronger Philadelphia Flyers
RD Tyler Myers Buffalo Sabres
LW Alex Ovechkin Washington Capitals
C Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins
RW Marian Gaborik New York Rangers
7th Tomas Plekanec Montreal Canadiens

Darren Pang – Mike Green gets left out there. Tyler Myers was chosen ahead because of the Buffalo-native Matthew Barnaby. I actually lean towards Mike Green right there. His numbers are phenomenal, he’s really trying hard to improve on the defensive side of it, but lets face it, this is not a defensive style of team anyway. His assets are his twig and his hands, his playmaking ability.

Matthew Barnaby – 26 points for Tyler Myers. He is a plus-9. He plays against the other teams’ top pairs with Henrik Tallinder. He has been terrific.

See original article here.

I’ve mentioned before how the Sabres should thank their lucky stars that Ryan Miller is their goalie, but where would the Sabres be if they didn’t have the young guys that I mentioned earlier (Tyler Myers too).

The youth of Buffalo may not score on a nightly basis, but showing up every night is something that ought to make a Buffalo fan feel pretty good about the future.

-Pat Kaleta’s favorite player growing up was Matt Barnaby, hence the reason he wears number 36. Keleta plays the same physical style as his idol. But now Kaleta is mimicking Barnaby’s scoring style. Kaleta’s scoring arsenal won’t ever be confused with Brett Hull, but he knows how to be on the other end of a give and go. I’m also a big fan of his little fist pump goal celebration-

-To think that Tyler Myers is only 19-years old and has shown no signs of slowing down is quite remarkable. He leads the team in ice-time and played 28:07 of tonight’s game. More importantly, Lindy Ruff has all the confidence in the world for his young defenseman. With all the talk about Ruff not overusing Miller, I’m surprised no one has raised the same question with Myers. But again, he’s showing no signs of tiring-

-Look, I know I’ve been very hard on Thomas Vanek, but his effort on the Clarke MaCarthur Power play goal was pretty cool. Vanek stood his ground against Hal Gill in front of the Montreal net, and when Gill had no choice but to wrestle Vanek to the ground, it left a clear passing lane for Drew Stafford to feed MaCarthur for the game winner-

-I don’t know about you, but the Montreal Canadians need to fire their coach. I don’t know who he is and how long he has been on the job for. But the Habs look as if they are sleeping walking and are lacking motivation-

-Really enjoyed listening to the WGR post game show after Sabres games. It’s a good hour of programming and really informative for a hockey fan. However, lets can the Sabres comparison to the 2005-2006 season. The only comparison between that team and the team today is that they both have Mike Grier and some good grit. That team could score goals at will..this one can’t-

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