N America Stars vs World All-Stars 
(At Pepsi Center, Denver)                          2:30 pm EST
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By Daren Smith 
SportsTicker Hockey Editor 

DENVER (Ticker) -- If last year's 50th NHL All-Star Game
celebrated hockey's storied history, this year's contest at the
Pepsi Center will harken back to its not-so-distant past. 

Nowhere is that more obvious than the presence of Mario Lemieux
as captain of the North American team that will try to avenge
last year's 9-4 loss to the World All-Stars. 

After retiring following the 1996-97 season, Lemieux was only
nine games into his comeback when he was added as a reserve. But
his credentials for this game are impeccable. 

At 35, the Pittsburgh Penguins' owner is averaging better than
two points per game.  He ranks second in All-Star history with
11 goals and 20 points, is an unprecedented three-time All-Star
MVP and in 1988 established an All-Star record for points in a
game with three goals and three assists. 

In 1992, Lemieux was one of four Penguins to start in the
All-Star Game, a feat duplicated this year by the host Colorado
Avalanche. 

Five-time Norris Trophy winner Ray Bourque of the Avalanche will
break a record with his 19th consecutive All-Star appearance.
Acquired late last season from Boston, Bourque topped all
vote-getters on the North American team with 215,903 and will
start on defense alongside another former Norris Trophy winner,
Rob Blake of the Los Angeles Kings. 

Reigning Hart and Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger of the St.
Louis Blues was voted to the starting lineup but will miss the
game due to injury along with Blues' teammate Al MacInnis. 

Colorado center Joe Sakic, the league's leading scorer with 72
points, will make his ninth All-Star appearance but first start
in 10 years.  Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy, the NHL's
all-time winningest goalie in the regular-season and playoffs,
gets the start in his ninth All-Star Game and first since 1998. 

Swedish center Peter Forsberg is Colorado's other starter,
getting the nod at center for the World squad in his fourth
All-Star appearance. 

The Avalanche influence extends behind the bench, where former
Colorado assistants Joel Quennevile of the Blues and Jacques
Martin of the Ottawa Senators will coach the North American and
World squads, respectively. Avalanche coach Bob Hartley will
assist Quenneville, while Larry Robinson of the New Jersey
Devils has the same post on the World team. 

One of the wingers flanking Forsberg will be Pavel Bure of the
Florida Panthers.  Bure won MVP honors last year with the 11th
hat trick in All-Star history. 

The other World starters are Czech right wing Jaromir Jagr of
the Pittsburgh Penguins, Swedish defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom of
the Red Wings, Latvian defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh of the
Carolina Hurricanes and Czech goalie Dominik Hasek of the
Buffalo Sabres. 

"Of course, I want to win," said Hasek, who may be making his
final All-Star appearance.  "I've played two games for the World
team and anytime I've played, we've never won. ... Last year I
didn't play and the World team won." 

But Jagr will not play due to a mild concussion he suffered in 
Wednesday's loss to Philadelphia.  Boston Bruins left wing 
Sergei Samsonov was named to replace Jagr on the World team.

Joining the three members of the Avalanche in the North American
starting lineup are wingers Theo Fleury of the New York Rangers
and Paul Kariya of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.  The diminutive
Fleury is third in the league in scoring after a miserable first
season in New York. 

Kariya was voted as a starter despite missing 16 games with a
cracked bone in his right foot. 

The North American squad is vastly more experienced with 16
players over the age of 30 compared to five on the World team.
Players on the North American team have made 110 previous
All-Star appearances, nearly three times as many as the World
squad. 

And nowhere is that disparity more evident than in the nets.
While Roy will be backed up by veterans Martin Brodeur of the
Devils and Sean Burke of the Phoenix Coyotes, Hasek will be
spelled by a pair of first-year goalies in Evgeni Nabokov of the
San Jose Sharks and Roman Cechmanek of the Philadelphia Flyers. 

While the North American starting lineup is an all-Canadian one,
there are five Americans among the reserves.  They are center
Doug Weight of the Edmonton Oilers, wingers Tony Amonte of the
Chicago Blackhawks, Bill Guerin of the Boston Bruins, 1992
All-Star MVP Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars and defenseman Brian
Leetch of the Rangers. 

Centers Jason Allison of the Bruins and Simon Gagne of the
Flyers, wingers Donald Audette of the Atlanta Thrashers and Luc
Robitaille of the Los Angeles Kings and defensemen Scott Stevens
of the Devils and Ed Jovanovski of the Vancouver Canucks
complete the North American roster. 

Jovanovski is replacing Pronger. 

Ottawa Senators teammates Radek Bonk of the Czech Republic and
Marian Hossa of Slovakia are among the World reserves.  They are
joined by Swedes Mats Sundin of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Markus
Naslund of the Canucks, Fredrik Modin of the Tampa Bay Lightning
and Marcus Ragnarsson of the Sharks. 

Russian right wing Alexei Kovalev of the Penguins and Czech
wingers Ziggy Palffy of the Kings and Milan Hejduk of Colorado
are the World's other forwards, while Finnish defensemen Janne
Niinimaa of the Oilers and Teppo Numminen of the Phoenix Coyotes
are joined on the blue line by Russia's Sergei Gonchar of the
Washington Capitals. 

Nine of the World reserves are making their All-Star debuts. 

Six teams -- the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders,
Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames and expansion Columbus Blue
Jackets and Minnesota Wild -- will not have representatives on
Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Center. 

While Sunday's contest will feature some of the NHL's top
defensemen, it will not feature much defense.  In the last 11
All-Star Games, the teams have combined for nearly 15 goals, a
statistic not lost on the coaches. 

"Certainly, from an entertainment point of view, there's going
to be a lot of goals," Quenneville said.  "I think it's
basically just let (the players) go. You try to win, and
hopefully that's the motivation.  But certainly, they like to
put on a show." 

st 02-04-01 09:45 et