Canadiens continue to lead All-Star voting

Dec 2, 2008 - 6:22 PM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The Montreal Canadiens may be well represented in this year's All-Star game, and for good reason.

The threesome of Alexei Kovalev, Saku Koivu and Alex Tanguay continue to lead the Eastern Conference in the latest All-Star voting results released Tuesday.

The 2009 All-Star game will be played on January 25 in Montreal. Voting will continue through January 2.

As expected, Montreal fans have come out in full force to support their beloved Canadiens.

Kovalev, who has five goals and 11 assists, is first among forwards with 393,303 votes. Koivu (390,026) leads Montreal with 19 points, while Tanguay (385,297) has a team-high eight goals.

Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby (320,373) is within striking distance of a starting spot, as he trails Tanguay by 65,000 votes. Crosby's teammate, Evgeni Malkin (264,914), who leads the league in points (39), is fifth.

Malkin is followed by reigning Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin (190,535)of Washington.

On the defensive side, Canadiens blue-liners Andrei Markov (440,292) and Mike Komisarek (396,754) lead the way. In addition, goaltender Carey Price (429,087) has more than twice as many votes as his nearest competitor - Marc-Andre Fleury (204,308) of Pittsburgh.