Lecavalier gets NHL All-Star Game bid, but St. Louis deserved honor more

January 8, 8:58 PMTampa Bay Lightning ExaminerKen Carpenter

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Vincent Lecavalier was chosen by the league Thursday to represent the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL All-Star Game, but does the team captain deserve to be on the East Conference roster?

Not this year.

Martin St. Louis is clearly having a better season than Lecavalier, and should have been the Lightning's lone representative in the Jan. 25 showcase.

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LIGHTNING FALL TO COYOTES, 3-2
Tocchet: Play 'unacceptable,' 'terrible;'
Four-game western road trip starts with loss
Game recap
Box score
Next opponent: Anaheim, Friday, 10 p.m.
Schedule, results

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St. Louis leads the team in scoring with 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists), three more than Lecavalier (16-18--34).  But the 33-year-old winger has given the team much more than statistical production.

He is the Lightning's best penalty killer. He has revived the power play with blistering shots from the blue line. He makes every shift count.

He is the emotional leader of the team, its spark plug, its heart beat.

Lecavalier is no doubt still feeling the aftereffects of offseason shoulder surgery, and his production is way down compared to his stats going into the 2008 All-Star Game, when he was the East captain.

Goaltender Mike Smith has been the Lightning's most consistent performer, but couldn't realistically expect an All-Star bid with nine wins and 23 losses. The East's goalies -- the Canadiens' Carey Price (16 wins), the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist (20), and the Bruins' Tim Thomas (16) -- are all much more deserving than Smith.