49th National Hockey League All-Star Game
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The 49th National Hockey League All-Star Game took place on January 24, 1999, at the Ice Palace in Tampa Bay, Florida, home to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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[edit] "North America" and the World
The major criticism of the North America versus World format was that Canadians still represented the majority of the NHL players, and it clearly showed in the team selection: the 49th game only saw five Americans as part of the North America roster, and many notable greats were left off the all-star ballot simply as there were too many names to choose from. Some pundits even claimed that from the players that were not invited to Tampa Bay, a second North American all-star team could have been made that could have easily been a match for either team at the all-star game.
The format also allowed for teammates to face each other, something that had not been done since the 6th National Hockey League All-Star Game. Where the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Vancouver Canucks were among the teams that sent players to both all-star teams the year before, the fact that teammates now opposed each other was more evident in this game.
Among the more pronounced comments came from last year's winning coach Ken Hitchcock, who came off his first ever all-star game victory at any level of hockey (he had been 0-11 before): he wished that perhaps the game could be held in Europe so that the World team would have a "home game".
Among the other notable achievements is that the 49th game was the first in which a goaltender earned a point, with Arturs Irbe assisting in Teemu Selänne's goal in the second period.
[edit] Boxscore
| North America | 19 | 15 | 15 | 49 |
| World | 9 | 15 | 12 | 36 |
- Referee: Paul Devorski
- Linesmen: Pierre Champoux, Brian Murphy
- MVP: Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers
- Attendance: 19,758
- Television: FOX, CBC, SRC
[edit] Notes
- Steve Yzerman voted to North America starting lineup, but did not play. Luc Robitaille replaced Yzerman in starting lineup.
- Curtis Joseph named to North America team, but did not play.
- Kenny Jonsson, Viktor Kozlov, and Uwe Krupp named to World team, but did not play.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by 48th NHL All-Star Game |
NHL All-Star Game | Succeeded by 50th NHL All-Star Game |
