In the beginning, there were two. When the NHL All-Star Game roster was officially announced on January 3, the Tampa Bay Lightning had just two players making their way to San Jose for the league-wide festivities; Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and forward Nikita Kucherov.
After it was announced Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price would not be attending the NHL All-Star game, suddenly another spot on the Atlantic Division roster became available. The question would become which player in the Division would be filling Price’s spot between the pipes.