NHL NEWS JAN 11 – BLACKHAWKS MOVE WITHIN A POINT OF FIRST PLACE IN THE NHL

Duncan Keith (1-1—2) scored his second career regular-season overtime goal (also Dec. 19, 2008 at CGY) to lead the Blackhawks to their fourth straight win.

At 27-12-5 (59 points), the Western Conference-leading Blackhawks climbed within a point of the Blue Jackets (28-8-4, 60 points) for first place in the NHL.

Keith added an assist and extended his point streak to five games (1-5—6). He leads Blackhawks defensemen with 2-29—31 this season (44 GP).

NHL ANNOUNCES ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS, HEAD COACHES

The NHL announced the full roster of players as well as the head coaches for the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, which will be held Jan. 28-29 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

The League unveiled the list of 40 players who will join the four division captains elected by fans via the 2017 NHL All-Star Fan Vote: Carey Price of the Canadiens (Atlantic), P.K. Subban of the Predators (Central), Sidney Crosby of the Penguins (Metropolitan) and Connor McDavid of the Oilers (Pacific). Each team is comprised of six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders.

The NHL also announced that  Michel Therrien of the Canadiens (Atlantic), Bruce Boudreau of the Wild (Central), John Tortorella of the Blue Jackets (Metropolitan) and Peter DeBoer of the Sharks (Pacific) have clinched the top point percentages in their respective divisions – through the midway point of the regular season (Tuesday, Jan. 10) – and will serve as head coaches.

Click here for complete NHL All-Star rosters.

NHL NEWS AND MUSINGS

• John Gibson (34 saves) recorded his second shutout in his last four appearances (also Jan. 4 vs. DET) to backstop the Ducks to their fourth win in their last five games
• Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson scored to reach the 20-goal mark for the fourth consecutive season
• Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou (1-0—1) has scored in three consecutive games (3-3—6)
• The Blues aired a tribute video honoring Bruins forward David Backes, who played 10 seasons with the club including five as team captain
• The NHL will celebrate the 100 Greatest NHL Players with THE NHL100, a star-studded primetime television special hosted by Emmy Award-winning actor Jon Hamm.

TUESDAY’S NHL RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
BUFFALO 4, Philadelphia 1
CAROLINA 5, Columbus 3
Boston 5, ST. LOUIS 3
NASHVILLE 2, Vancouver 1 (OT)
CHICAGO 4, Detroit 3 (OT)
San Jose 5, EDMONTON 3
ANAHEIM 2, Dallas 0

WEDNESDAY’S NHL ACTION
All Times Eastern
Florida @ NY Islanders, 7 p.m.
Montreal @ Winnipeg, 7:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh @ Washington, 8 p.m.
San Jose @ Calgary, 9:30 p.m.