Bruins' stars snubbed by Montreal

January 6, 5:02 PMBoston Fantasy Sports ExaminerMark Fuery

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Chara and Wideman have been two of the best defensemen in the NHL

With nearly half of the NHL season complete the Boston Bruins sit atop the Eastern Conference with 62 points. They have only lost 10 games all season (four of them in overtime or a shootout), while winning 29.

Those 29 wins have come in impressive fashion. The Bruins have scored 143 goals so far this season; the most in the NHL. They have also only allowed 88, which is second and one behind the Minnesota Wild.

The Bruins have been without a doubt the most dominant team in the East up to this point. So when the All-Star starters were announced you would think it would be full of Bruins.

Think again.

When the starting lineups were announced Boston was shocked to see that there were no players selected from the first place Bruins. However, there were four Montreal Canadiens, including defensemen Mike Komisarek and his three points on the season. These selections were without a doubt a result of ballot stuffing in Montreal.

The Canadiens will have one forward, two defensemen, and the starting goaltender in this year’s game.

What a coincidence, those are the same positions that should be occupied by Bruins. Although the forward position is a toss-up, and is not the same spot that is occupied by the Montreal player.

Of course, this is the center spot. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby got the starting nod while setting a record for All-Star votes, breaking former Penguin Jaromir Jagr’s record.

There is no doubt that Crosby is deserving of this spot and is great for the league, but Bostonians can’t help but think that their own Marc Savard is slightly more deserving this season. Their statistics are nearly identical. Only one point separates them, and their shooting percentages are nearly identical. The only difference on paper is Savard’s plus/minus rating of 25, compared to Crosby’s five.

But stats are not the reason there is a case for Savard. It is the pivotal role he has played in his team’s success. Savard is the leader and playmaker of the league’s most prolific offense. He is the type of player who makes his teammates better; much like Joe Thornton did when he was in Boston.

Two other Bruins who should be joining Savard when the pick drops on Jan. 25 are defensemen Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman. They are the conference’s top two defensemen in plus/minus and are the anchors for a defense who has allowed the least goals in the East.

Chara was expected to play at this level since coming to Boston, and he has not disappointed. However, Wideman has been a pleasant surprise. The young defenseman had a good season last year, but has emerged as one of the best in the NHL at his position. He is undoubtedly deserving of a starting nod, as is Chara.

The players benefiting the most from the elite play of both Wideman and Chara are the Bruin goaltenders. Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez have both been incredible so far.

Fernandez has come back strong after missing most of last season with a knee injury. His 2.02 Goals-against-average is the best in the east, while his .930 save percentage is second. However, the slight edge goes to the other Boston netminder

Veteran Tim Thomas has followed up last year’s All-Star season with an even better performance. He is currently second in the East in GAA, while leading the conference in save percentage. He is also tied for the lead with three shutouts.

It is hard to choose between Thomas and Fernandez, but at this point it has to go to Thomas simply because he has put in more time so far. At this point the Bruins have relied on him a little more and he should get the nod.

Too bad Thomas never got a chance to get the starting spot since he was left off the ballot. The NHL was at fault for his snub, but the others are a different story.

It is absurd that the Canadiens have four starters in the All-Star game. If anyone has four players start the game it should be the Bruins, the best team in the East.

This is the problem with the fan vote. The All-Star game is a popularity contest that has turned into a mockery by ballot stuffing fans who put undeserving players in just because they wear a certain team’s uniform.

Because of this we have deserving players left out while an entire province stuffs the ballot boxes and get defensemen who score three points into the game.

All of these Canadiens in the starting lineup does bring up one question though: Will they still take dives in the All-Star game?

For more on All-Star snubs check out my article on the Pro Bowl.

UPDATE: Marc Savard was selected to the All-Star game. New Bruins Examiner Mark Marino writes about it here.