NHL All-Star Game 2017: Analyzing Each Divisional Roster

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins is the NHL's premier headline player, while Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers will undoubtedly inherit that role from the Penguins' superstar at some point in the future.

The two impact players will captain divisional teams in this Sunday's All-Star Game at Staples Center in Los Angeles at 3:30 p.m. ET. 

Crosby will lead the Metropolitan Division team, and McDavid will wear the "C" for the Pacific Division. Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is the captain of the Atlantic Division team, while defenseman P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators (and Price's former teammate in Montreal) will hold that honor as a member of the Central Division. 

The All-Star Game actually consists of three separate games. The Metropolitan Division All-Stars will meet the Atlantic Division, while the Central Division will take on the Pacific Division. Both of those games will be conducted in a three-on-three format for 20 minutes, similar to the way the NHL stages its regular-season overtime.

The two winning teams will meet in the championship game, and the team that wins that game will split $1 million.

Crosby's Metropolitan Division team features the explosive Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers and John Tavares of the New York Islanders at the forward spots. On defense, the squad consists of Seth Jones of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Justin Faulk of the Carolina Hurricanes and Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers. Braden Holtby of the Capitals and Sergei Bobrovsky will split the goaltending duties.

Any team with Crosby and Ovechkin on it has to be taken seriously. Crosby has been on a remarkable scoring pace with 28 goals and 27 assists this season, and his ability to create plays makes him perhaps the ideal competitor in the format.

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Ovechkin has a remarkable shot, and his ability to score goals is unparalleled in today's game. He has scored 50 goals or more seven times in his career, and he has 23 to this point in the season.

Jones and Faulk have plenty of speed on the back line and can turn defense into offense in an instant, while both goaltenders have the capability of shutting down opponents and stealing victories, if necessary.

The Atlantic Division has not been as strong as the Metropolitan this year, but Price is almost certainly the most respected goaltender in the league. He will split the netminding duties with Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins, and those two may give their team the best goaltending in the four-team tournament.

Price has a 22-10-5 record with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. Rask has helped to keep the Bruins in playoff contention with a 24-12-4 record, a 2.15 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

Derik Hamilton/Associated Press

The Atlantic Division may not have the firepower up front that the other divisions possess, but it will look to rookie Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Brad Marchand of the Bruins up front.

Matthews has been having a remarkable rookie year as last year's No. 1 draft choice. He has 23 goals and 16 assists, and five of his goals have been game-winners. The edgy Marchand has a team-leading 21 goals for the Bruins along with 28 assists, while Kucherov has lit the lamp 19 times and has 25 assists. Seven of Kucherov's goals have come on the power play.

While the forwards may lack offensive punch, the defensemen do not. Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators is a fast, free-wheeling skater who can score from anywhere inside the blue line, and Montreal's Shea Weber has a cannon for a slap shot. Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman is also a dangerous player who has seven goals and 31 assists.

Subban's Central Division team features Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks up front, along with Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars and Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues.

Kane is a remarkable stick-handler who can score or create an opportunity for a teammate because of his quickness and decisiveness with the puck. Toews may be the NHL's premier two-way player because he excels on defense in addition to his ability to make things happen around the net.

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Seguin has had three consecutive seasons with 33 or more goals, and he has tallied 18 goals to this point in the season. His skating speed and loaded shot make him dangerous, while Tarasenko, who has 21 goals and 26 assists, can get his shot away in an instant.

The Central Division goaltending tandem of Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild and Corey Crawford of the Blackhawks is somewhat questionable. While Dubnyk has been sensational, Crawford has been inconsistent lately.

Subban has a blazing shot from the blue line, but he has been injured throughout much of the first half of the season, and that's why his numbers are down (seven goals and 11 assists). Defensemen Duncan Keith of the Blackhawks and Ryan Suter of the Wild will be difficult to challenge when they are on the ice.

McDavid is a remarkable talent who came into the league as the No. 1 draft pick in 2015, and he has played the way a young superstar is supposed to play. Not only is he the captain of the Pacific Division team, but the 20-year-old is the youngest team captain in the league.

McDavid has 17 goals and 42 assists for the surging Oilers, and he may be the fastest player in the league when the puck is on his stick. He will be joined by Jeff Carter of the Los Angeles Kings and Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames up front.

Carter has a wicked snap shot and has scored 24 goals and 19 assists to this point, while Gaudreau, who is coming off a 30-goal season, has 11 goals this campaign.

Defenseman Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks may be the most unique player in the league, as he has 21 goals and 30 assists from the blue line and excels at getting his accurate shot through traffic. Drew Doughty of the Kings is tough, physical and talented, and he has 28 points this season.

Prediction

Despite the presence of Price and Rask on the Atlantic Division roster, the Metropolitan is deeper and more talented and should win that Eastern Conference matchup.

McDavid may dominate the Western Conference matchup between the Central and Pacific teams, and that means he will lead the Pacific Division to the championship game against the Metropolitan Division.

Once McDavid gets that far, he will team with Carter and Burns to dominate that game, and the Pacific Division will celebrate a victory.