1. Milestones
link to milestones +2 TPE

3. With all defenders on the East team being from different teams, I think it really embodies the way the all-star game should be. I like that it is a bunch of different players who would not normally play together combining for a game to have a good battle. I would definitely pair the offensive minded defenders with more of the defensive or two way defenders that like to stay at home more. Phillipe Eko-Eel and Jølngüštrâädüvich DuBølk could be a really cool pair, with Eko-Eel carrying most of the offensive workload. DuBolk is definitely no slouch in the offensive zone for sure, finishing second in defender goals this season, but his 57 takeaways as well as his 214 blocks really stand out as the more defensive of the two on this pair. Eko-Eel's 66 points and 20 goals were good for 1st in points and third in goals among defenders, which would provide yet another scoring threat from the blue line. A defensive pair of two 6 foot 9 plus defenders that can block shots, put up goals, and shut down your top line is a coach's dream and opponents' nightmare. A great back end would see Georg N'Zola and Nathaniel Barca playing together on the second unit, with both able to play a solid two way style of game. Able to chip in on offense when needed, this defensive pair makes it a matchup nightmare for opposing teams.
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4. Goaltending can be a bit streaky and you should not judge goaltenders off of a single game. 4 extremely talented goaltenders have made it into the all star game and either one on each team would be an excellent choice to start. For the western conference team I would probably go with Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz as the starter, finishing top 3 in goals against average and top 5 in save percentage gives him the edge over Justin Time for me. In the eastern conference I would have to go with Five-Hole Sieve, I think his .910 save percentage is very impressive and although Tibuk Soonika had a lower goals against average, I don't think the .25 GAA difference is as large as the .010 save percentage gap. With all star rosters like this you are really spoiled with choices and you could definitely just have each goalie play half of the game and get a good result.
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8 TPE