SB Nation DC - 2012 NHL All-Star Game: Dennis Wideman Assists In 12-9 Victory For Team Chara

2012 NHL All-Star Game Recap: Dennis Wideman Assists In Team Chara's 12-9 Win

2012-01-30T00:09:54Z

Team Chara came out with a 12-9 win over Team Alfredsson in the 2012 edition of the NHL's All-Star Game. Washington Capitals' defenseman Dennis Wideman got in on the scoring action late in the third period, notching a point on a secondary assist of a Jarome Iginla goal.

The assist helped give Team Chara an 11-8 lead late in the third period, as Wideman's line helped separate their team in the high-scoring affair. Wideman had just one shot on goal but saw significant action, with only team captain Zdeno Chara getting more ice time for his side. With Alex Ovechkin opting out of the game during a three-game suspension, Wideman represented the Capitals' organization well in Ottawa.

Marian Gaborik was named the MVP, with the Rangers' superstar scoring three goals and adding an assist.

For more on the Capitals that will be taking part in that game, head over to Japers' Rink. For more on this game, please check out the SB Nation NHL All-Star game StoryStream.

2012 NHL All-Star Game: TV Schedule, Announcers And More

2012-01-29T15:44:53Z

The 2012 NHL All-Star Game will take place Sunday in Ottawa, pitting teams chosen by captains Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins and Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators against one another in the 59th edition of the league's all-star showcase.

The Washington Capitals have just one All Star, defenseman Dennis Wideman, who will play for Team Chara after being selected in the 15th round of the All Star Game Fantasy Draft.

Here is all you need to know about today's game:

Game time/date: 4:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, January 29, 2012

Location: Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

TV Schedule: NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus). Mike "Doc" Emrick and Eddie Olczyk will be in the booth, with Pierre McGuire positioned "inside-the-glass" and Jeremy Roenickconducting player interviews.

Rosters: Full Team Chara and Team Alfredsson Rosters

We'll have more on the All-Star game throughout the weekend here at SB Nation D.C., so keep it locked to this StoryStream. For more on the Capitals that will be taking part in that game, head over to Japers' Rink. For more on this game, please check out the SB NationNHL All-Star game StoryStream.

2012 NHL All-Star Skills Competition: Dennis Wideman Participates In Hardest Shot, Skills Challenge Relay Events

2012-01-29T13:43:24Z

The 2012 NHL All-Star Skills Competition took place Saturday evening in Ottawa, and Washington Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman took part in two events for Team Chara, the Hardest Shot competition and the Skills Challenge Relay event.

The Hardest Shot event is just want it sounds like, and pretty soon should just be named the Zdeno Chara Memorial Hardest Shot Event, as the Boston Bruins defenseman once again blew away the competition, shooting pucks at 106.2, 108.8, 106.9 and 107 mph. Wideman had said his goal was to simply not embarrass himself in the event, and shoot the puck harder than 90 mph, which he did, recording 94.6 and 95.3 mph attempts.

Wideman was tasked with shooting right-handed one-timers for Team Chara in the Skills Challenge Relay, a new event added for 2012, which featured 16 players from each team showcasing their passing, puck control, accuracy and one-timer skills. Wideman's team finished in 2:45, but they were bested by their Team Alfredsson competition, who completed the same tasks in 2:28.

2012 NHL Skills Competition: TV Schedule, Announcers And More

2012-01-28T23:21:49Z

The 2012 NHL Skills Competition will take place on Saturday night live from Ottawa. Several players, including Washington Capitals defensemen Dennis Wideman, will be taking part in the festivities. Wideman will be a part of the Hardest Shot competition and the Skill Challenge Relay shooting right-handed one-timers for Team Chara.

The other events include the Fastest Skater, Breakaway Challenge, Accuracy Shooting and Elimination Shootout. The festivities will begin at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Network. Canadian viewers can watch the events on CBC and on NHL Network, both of which will also have pregame shows.

We'll have more on the 2012 NHL All-Star Game throughout the weekend here at SB Nation D.C., so keep it locked to this StoryStream. For more on the Capitals that will be taking part in that game, head over to Japers' Rink. For more on this game, please check out the SB Nation NHL All-Star game StoryStream.

2012 NHL All-Star Skills Competition: Quick Look At The Six Events

2012-01-28T13:45:19Z

The 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend officially began on Thursday when Team Chara and Team Alfredsson chose their teams, among them the Washington Capitals lone All-Star, defenseman Dennis Wideman (selected in the 15th round). The real on-ice fun, though, begins Saturday with the Skills Competition. A quick rundown of the six events is below, some individual and some team-related, that will occur Saturday evening in Ottawa, beginning at 7:00 P.M. ET. Wideman will compete in two of these events, the Hardest Shot and the Skills Challenge Relay.

Fastest Skater: Five players from each team compete in a series of heats to determine who is the fastest.

Breakaway Challenge: A goalie and three shooters from each team participate, as players attempt three shots, looking to score a goal in the most impressive way possible. Judges vote on the goal-scoring attempts.

Accuracy Shooting: Four foam targets are placed in the four corners of the goal, and players try to hit each target in the fastest time possible.

Skills Challenge Relay: This event consists of four separate relays, with each replay involving: one timers, passing, puck control relay, stick handling, and shooting accuracy. Players cannot move on to the next skill until the previous one is completed.

Hardest Shot: The player who shoots the puck the hardest, measured in MPH, wins. Captain Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins has won this event four years in a row.

Elimination Shootout: The basics of the game: players attempt to score a goal against the goaltender and move on to the next round.

We'll have more on the All-Star game throughout the weekend here at SB Nation D.C., so keep it locked to this StoryStream. For more on the Capitals that will be taking part in that game, head over to Japers' Rink. For more on this game, please check out the SB Nation NHL All-Star game StoryStream.

2012 NHL All-Star Skills Competition: Dennis Wideman To Participate In Hardest Shot, Relay For Team Chara

2012-01-27T23:30:29Z

Washington Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman has been selected by team captain and Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara to participate in two events at Saturday's 2012 Molson Canadian All-Star Skills Competition.

Wideman, selected in the 15th round by Team Chara, will take part in the Hardest Shot competition with defending champion Chara, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf and Buffalo Sabres forward/rookie Luke Adam. They will be opposed by Ottawa Senators forwards Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk and Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber.

Wideman will also take part in the Relay, taking right-handed one-timers with Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla and Toronto Maple Leafs forward and Team Chara assistant captain Joffrey Lupul.

The NHL Skills Competition begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. For rules regarding the respective competitions as well as team rosters, click here.

We'll have more on the All-Star game throughout the weekend here at SB Nation D.C., so keep it locked to this StoryStream. For more on the Capitals that will be taking part in that game, head over to Japers' Rink. For more on this game, please check out the SB Nation NHL All-Star game StoryStream.

2012 NHL All Star Game Final Rosters: Dennis Wideman Will Skate With Team Chara

2012-01-27T14:34:28Z

The NHL All-Stars got together and chose their rosters for the game this weekend on Thursday night in Ottawa, here are the final rosters, courtesy of the NHL All-Star StoryStream on SB Nation.

TEAM CHARA

Forwards: Joffrey Lupul, Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Corey Perry, Phil Kessel, Patrick Kane, Jarome Iginla, Marian Gaborik, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Seguin,Jamie Benn

Defensemen: Zdeno Chara, Kimmo Timonen, Ryan Suter, Dan Girardi, Dion Phaneuf, Dennis Wideman

Goalies: Tim Thomas, Carey Price, Jimmy Howard

Rookies: Gabriel Landeskog, Luke Adam, Craig Smith, Colin Greening, Cody Hodgson, Ryan Johansen

TEAM ALFREDSSON

Forwards: Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Claude Giroux, Steven Stamkos, Daniel Sedin, Milan Michalek, Henrik Sedin, James Neal, John Tavares, Scott Hartnell, Jason Pominville, Logan Couture

Defensemen: Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Shea Weber, Dan Girardi, Keith Yandle, Alex Edler

Goalies: Henrik Lundqvist, Jonathan Quick, Brian Elliott

Rookies: Sean Couturier, Justin Faulk, Carl Hagelin, Nick Johnson, Matt Read, Craig Smith

As you can see, Dennis Wideman is on Team Chara, which will be the de facto away team because most of the Senators on the squad are on team Alfredsson.

We'll have more on the All-Star game throughout the weekend here at SB Nation D.C., so keep it locked to this StoryStream. For more on the Capitals that will be taking part in that game, head over to Japers' Rink. For more on this game, please check out the SB Nation NHL All-Star game StoryStream.

Alex Ovechkin Can Skip 2012 All-Star Game Because League No Longer Needs Him There

2012-01-27T14:29:23Z

Those that are outraged over Alex Ovechkin's decision to skip the 2012 NHL All-Star Game are forgetting that Ovechkin isn't the icon he used to be. That's the saddest part of all in this saga.

The argument that Alex Ovechkin is letting his sport down by skipping the 2012 All-Star Game following his three-game suspension is hilarious to me. Several players, such as Teemu Selanne and Nicklas Lidstrom, asked not to be selected and got no grief for it. Ovechkin was suspended by the league, and yet he gets the brunt of the criticism? It makes no sense.

More: Ovechkin's Choice

Look, it's an All-Star Game. Whatever. His biggest mistake was offering a pretty lame excuse that he didn't want to be a "distraction" instead of having the team make up an injury for him, which is how it works in other sports. All Ovechkin had to say was that he had a "lower-body injury," and none of this outcry would have happened.

But even with his clumsy rhetoric, Ovechkin has every right to not play. If I were to craft an argument in Ovechkin's favor, it'd rely on the following talking points.

Why should a player suspended by the league then have to be called upon to represent the league during his suspension?
Ovechkin has done plenty as an ambassador for the game already.
If the fans really wanted him there, they would have voted him in as a starter.

Ah, but let's think about Point 3 for a second. Isn't that the real story here?

The fans see it, so why can't everyone? The problem with those who claim that Ovechkin is the face of hockey are stuck in the past. Take Mike Wise, for example, who put out this tweet yesterday.

What's Percolating Here? 1. Ovechkin is a baby who needs to remember that he is an ambassador of his team and sport at the NHL All-Star Game
— Mike Wise (@MikeWiseguy) January 26, 2012

Is Ovechkin really any more an ambassador for the sport than a lot of other good players in the league that begged off the game? Last year, he had his worst scoring season of his career. He's on pace to finish with even fewer goals and points this year. Forty NHL players have more points than him.

That's the sad thing about all this. Bruce Arthur of the National Post is dead on when he says Ovechkin really doesn't matter like he used to matter to this league.

The distraction that resulted from Ovechkin’s withdrawal is because of Alexander Ovechkin the idea, as much as Alexander Ovechkin the player.

Which is too bad, because there was a time when Ovechkin pulling himself from this meaningless billboard of a weekend would have been truly seismic because he was the most incandescent player in a league whose majority is largely made up of admirable but interchangeable pieces. When you watched him, it was as if Pavel Bure added 30 pounds of muscle and a breakthrough personality and tried to turn people into wallpaper. There was a time when Ovechkin mattered as much as anybody in this league.

But Ovechkin-Crosby was three years and a lifetime ago, and those days are gone. What’s worrying is in a very concrete sense, on this largely imaginary weekend, it doesn’t matter that Alexander Ovechkin isn’t here, because he’s not really the same Alexander Ovechkin anymore. The weekend might not really matter, but right now, neither does he.

It may be time for Capitals fans to start facing facts. For whatever reason, the Ovechkin that revived a dormant hockey fanbase in Washington D.C. may indeed be long gone. This is not just a one-season slump or an adjustment to a new system. This is now a year and a half where Ovechkin really hasn't been all that great.

When someone isn't all that great, they shouldn't be held up as an ambassador of the game that would be letting down his sport by not showing up to its biggest athletic exhibition. If Ovechkin was the face of the league, one could legitimately make the argument that life simply isn't fair and he has to play his part to grow the sport. But he's not anymore, and therefore, that argument falls flat on his face. He's just as much a face of the sport as Selanne, Lidstrom and others who begged out of the game.

And the group of people that really suffer from that reality reside in the Nation's Capital.

We'll have more on the All-Star game throughout the weekend here at SB Nation D.C., so keep it locked to this StoryStream. For more on the Capitals that will be taking part in that game, head over to Japers' Rink. For more on this game, please check out the SB Nation NHL All-Star game StoryStream.