Crosby, Markov And Chara Hold The Top Spots In The Eastern Conference In XM / NHL All-Star Fan Balloting, Presented By 2K Sports

NEW YORK, NY — Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov and Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara lead all Eastern Conference vote-getters in the XM / NHL All-Star Fan Balloting, Presented by 2K Sports. Crosby tops the Eastern Conference with 94,118 votes, followed by Markov with 48,134 votes and Chara with 45,949. More than 2.15 million votes were cast in the first six days of the all-digital voting program.

The voting will determine the starting lineups for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Jan. 26 in Atlanta (6 p.m. ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS, NASN, NHL Radio). Fans can vote for six Eastern Conference All-Stars and six Western Conference All-Stars: three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender for each team. If a player is not listed on the ballot, a space is provided for write-in votes. The three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender from each Conference receiving the most votes will comprise the starting lineups. Each of the 30 NHL Clubs has at least two representatives on the ballot.

Crosby, Ottawa Senators right wing Daniel Alfredsson (41,198) and Philadelphia Flyers center Daniel Briere (32,751) lead all forwards in votes. Markov and Chara are tops among defensemen. The New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist leads all Eastern Conference goaltenders with 30,324 votes.

Updated balloting results for the Western Conference will be announced tomorrow.

Through Jan. 2, fans around the world can go online at NHL.com to "Vote Now, Vote Often" for the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star starters for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game. U.S. fans also can cast votes through Verizon Wireless Mobile Web 2.0-enabled phones.

On NHL.com, the XM/NHL All-Star Fan Balloting, Presented by 2K Sports section features an interactive ballot, showcasing players with video clips, photos and virtual video game highlights created from in-game NHL^® 2K8 footage. Residents of the United States and Canada who vote are able to register for a chance to win a variety of daily prizes, including XM XpressRC radios with three months of free service, 2K Sports games, autographed 2008 NHL All-Star jerseys and shop.NHL.com gift certificates.

One grand-prize winner will receive a trip for two to attend the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in a private suite, joined by former NHL players and brought to you by XM. Additionally, each registered voter will automatically qualify to receive a 14-day free trial of XM Radio Online.

Verizon Wireless customers can vote and can register for the sweepstakes by voting using their Mobile Web 2.0-enabled phones. The process is simple: launch the Mobile Web browser, select Sports, select NHL Mobile and then select All-Star Balloting. To vote, follow the instructions on the screen.

The 2008 NHL All-Star Weekend in Atlanta will feature live national broadcasts of the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills event on Saturday, Jan. 26 and the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 27 on VERSUS in the United States and CBC and RDS in Canada. NASN and other international broadcasters will provide live coverage of both the Dodge/NHL SuperSkills event and the NHL All-Star Game to more than 115 countries and territories in Europe. NHL RADIO on Westwood One will provide exclusive, national radio coverage which can be heard on stations around the United States and Canada as well as on XM Satellite Radio's NHL Home Ice and NHL.com.

NHL is a registered trademark and NHL SuperSkills, NHL Radio and the NHL All Star logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.

XM / NHL All-Star Fan Balloting, Presented by 2K Sports Eastern Conference
(as of 11/19/07)

Player, NHL Club, Votes

Forwards
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh, 94,118
Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa, 41,198
Daniel Briere, Philadelphia, 32,751
Alex Ovechkin, Washington, 30,686
Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay, 28,615
Dany Heatley, Ottawa, 27,121
Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta, 26,628
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh, 18,015
Saku Koivu, Montreal, 17,891
Maxim Afinogenov, Buffalo, 17,782
JaromirJagr, NY Rangers, 16,604
Chris Drury, NY Rangers, 15,600
Mats Sundin, Toronto, 14,046
Jason Blake, Toronto, 13,317
Simon Gagne, Philadelphia, 12,394
Jason Spezza, Ottawa, 11,902
*Mike Richards, Philadelphia , 10,315
Thomas Vanek, Buffalo, 9,701
Patrik Elias, New Jersey, 9,358
Eric Staal, Carolina, 8,746
Marian Hossa, Atlanta, 8,648
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay, 7,546
Brendan Shanahan, NY Rangers, 7,057
*Alex Kovalev, Montreal, 5,990
Bill Guerin, NY Islanders, 5,805
Vyacheslav Kozlov, Atlanta, 4,651
Justin Williams, Carolina, 4,611
Olli Jokinen, Florida, 4,466
Scott Gomez, NY Rangers, 4,304
Marc Savard, Boston , 3,205
Brian Gionta, New Jersey, 2,909
*Nik Antropov, Toronto, 2,373
Brad Richards,Tampa Bay, 2,275

Defensemen
Andrei Markov, Montreal, 48,134
Zdeno Chara, Boston, 45,949
Tomas Kaberle, Toronto, 36,125
Brian Campbell, Buffalo, 33,857
Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia, 30,951
Wade Redden, Ottawa, 29,457
Ryan Whitney, Pittsburgh, 27,028
Jay Bouwmeester, Florida, 23,454
Chris Phillips, Ottawa, 19,174
Bryan McCabe, Toronto, 18,840
Dan Boyle, Tampa Bay, 17,255
Henrik Tallinder, Buffalo, 12,702

Goaltenders
Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers, 30,324
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey, 29,631
Martin Biron, Philadelphia, 27,849
Cristobal Huet, Montreal, 24,515
Ryan Miller, Buffalo, 14,112
Ray Emery, Ottawa, 11,752
Cam Ward, Carolina, 10,565
Rick DiPietro, NY Islanders, 10,352
Tomas Vokoun, Florida, 6,949
Olaf Kolzig, Washington, 5,623

*write-in candidate

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