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Report: Ovechkin might skip All-Star Game, Toews won’t attend

58th NHL All-Star Game Portraits

poses for a portrait before the 58th NHL All-Star Game at RBC Center on January 30, 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Harry How

The 2012 All-Star Game’s list of stars keeps shrinking.

Nicklas Lidstrom and Teemu Selanne decided to play the seniority card to sit this one out. Injuries are the most common escape hatch for other players likely to find themselves on the sidelines and more last-minute omissions are rolling in by the day. (TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that Jonathan Toews is out, as expected, by the way.)

Alex Ovechkin likes to add new wrinkles to these events, so it only makes sense that he might do something unusual. McKenzie reports that the sting of Ovechkin’s recently announced three-game suspension might prompt him to take that All-Star break vacation, after all.

The Washington Times’ Stephen Whyno transcribed McKenzie’s comments:

“The word out of Washington tonight is that at this point Alexander Ovechkin does not want to go to the All-Star weekend as a suspended player,” Bob McKenzie said. “No firm decision’s been made on anything, but all accounts would lead us to believe that there will be some decisions in Washington [Tuesday] with the Capitals, with Ovechkin about this issue. I would bet right now that Alexander Ovechkin’s going to want to withdraw from the NHL All-Star Game.”

For those who worry that Ovechkin might get suspended again for sitting out the game, McKenzie guesses that the NHL wouldn’t stack another one for missing the event. (If he ends up missing it at all, that is.)