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| Monday, January 31 | |||||
NEW YORK -- Pat Quinn of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Scotty Bowman of the Detroit Red Wings will coach the teams in the 50th NHL All-Star Game.
The game will take place Sunday, Feb. 6 at Toronto. The North America All-Stars, comprised of players from Canada and the United States, will face the World All-Star team, with top NHL players from the rest of the world. Quinn will be the head coach and Roger Neilson of Philadelphia will be the assistant coach for the North America All-Stars because their teams have the best points percentages in the Eastern Conference through games of Jan. 3. Quinn's Maple Leafs have a points percentage of .675 after posting 54 points in 40 games (24-12-4-2) to lead the Eastern Conference. Neilson's Flyers have a points percentage of .654 with 51 points in 39 games (22-11-6-1). The Flyers were placed ahead of the New Jersey Devils, who also recorded a .654 points percentage, based on superior goal differential. Bowman's Red Wings lead the Western Conference with a points percentage of .705, based on their 55 points in 39 games (25-10-4-1). Assisting him behind the World All-Stars' bench will be Joel Quenneville, whose St. Louis Blues are at .654 after recording 51 points in 39 games (23-11-5-0). Bowman will be participating in his 12th All-Star Game, the most coaching appearances in NHL history. He last participated in the 1996 All-Star Game as the head coach of the Western Conference. Quinn will be coaching in his second All-Star Game, last appearing behind the bench of the Campbell Conference in 1981. The opposing coach in 1981 was Bowman, whose Wales Conference team lost 4-1. Neilson will be making his first All-Star Game appearance since 1983, when he directed the Campbell Conference to a 9-3 victory. Quenneville will be making his All-Star Game debut.
The starting lineups for the North America and World All-Stars
will be announced by ABC Sports at halftime of the NFL playoff game
between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans on Saturday, Jan. 8. | ALSO SEE Jagr could be first million-vote All-Star U.S.-born players not faring well in North American All-Star vote |