Canadiens lead all six positions in All-Star voting

Nov 14, 2008 - 7:45 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Talk about your clean sweeps.

After one week of voting, the fans want the Montreal Canadiens - namely all six members of the starting lineup - representing the Eastern Conference in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game, according to a report by TSN of Canada on Thursday.

With more than 110,000 votes each, all six Canadiens on the ballot - goaltender Carey Price, defensemen Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek and forwards Saku Koivu, Alexei Kovalev and Alex Tanguay - have amassed the most votes for all six positions for the East.

The 57th All-Star Game will be played at the Bell Centre in Montreal on January 25, 2009.

A second-year goaltender, Price leads all players on the ballot with 128,642 votes. The number is more than twice the amount received by Vancouver Canucks captain Roberto Luongo (60,958).

Montreal captain Koivu (118,329) and teammates Kovalev (117,080) and Tanguay (115,828) lead all forwards in votes. By comparison, reigning Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin (35,547) of the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (25,986) greatly lag behind the Canadiens triumvirate.

The Canadiens' top defensive pairing of Markov (126,263) and Komisarek (118,202) lead the voting by a large margin. Six-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom of the reigning Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings is a distant third with 57,376 votes.

The last time Montreal hosted the All-Star Game was in 1993. Goaltender Patrick Roy was voted in as the lone starter from the Canadiens.