Penguins’ Neal headed to All-Star Game
Posted January 25, 2012 10:32 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward James Neal will be making his NHL All-Star Game debut, joining teammates Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang in Ottawa on Thursday.
Neal has been added to the all-star roster for the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend Jan. 26-29, the league announced Wednesday.
Neal replaces Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who withdrew from the event after being slapped with a three-game suspension for an illegal hit.
Neal began the regular season with nine goals in his first 12 games and has ranked among NHL goal-scoring leaders since. The 24-year-old Whitby, Ont., native has 27 goals, tied with Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews for second place in the race for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Neal tallied the 100th goal of his NHL career — and matched his single-season career high set with the Dallas Stars in 2009-10 — in the Penguins’ 3-2 shootout victory at St. Louis Tuesday. Neal leads the NHL with 210 shots and is tied for the NHL lead with 13 power-play goals. The Penguins have won nine consecutive games and are 17-3-2 overall when Neal scores a goal.
Neal earned his second invitation to NHL All-Star Weekend, having skated for the NHL Rookies against the Sophomores in the 2009 YoungStars game at Montreal.
The 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft will be held on Thursday to divide the All-Stars and Rookies into two teams — Team Alfredsson, led by captain Daniel Alfredsson of the All-Star host Ottawa Senators and his assistant captain Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers; and Team Chara, featuring captain Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins and his assistant captain Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
