Players name Eric Staal and Nik Lidstrom captains for NHL All-Star Game

Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nik Lidstrom have been voted captains for the 2011 NHL game. The NHL which adopted a new format, will have the captains of the game select the teams. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby was the leading vote getter for the game but is considered a major longshot to participate in the game. Crosby will miss his 6th straight game tonight against the Detroit Red Wings and is expected to be held out until after the All-Star break. For Crosby to participate in the All-Star game, he will have to dress for one of the Penguins remaining four games, which isn’t likely to happen. Crosby though is fully expected to attend the event,

Hurricanes confident after Game 1 loss

The Carolina Hurricanes were a confident team following Monday’s 3-2 loss and with two days off, they will look at the positives from game 1. After Pittsburgh dictated the play in the 1st period, jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Hurricanes were able to weather the storm and play even with the Penguins for the final 40 minutes. After Joe Corvo cut the Penguins lead to 3-2 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, the Hurricanes were a puck bouncing off of Eric Staal’s stick in front of a wide open net from forcing over-time. The goaltending matchup was nearly even with Marc Andre Fleury one up on Cam Ward. Two concerns for the Hurricanes going into