Blackhawks Stars Top Fan All-Star Votes
(Photo: Blackhawks.nhl.com)
The seas of red in opponents’ rinks and hundreds of consecutive standing-room only home games are a testament of the Blackhawks‘ ever-expanding fan base.
The fans’ latest expression of devotion has launched their team to the top of the All-Star rankings just one week into entries for the 2015 NHL All-Star Fan Vote Presented by SiriusXM.
The Blackhawks held the most top-10 spots on the leaderboard of any team so far, according to an NHL press release.
Forwards Patrick Kane (with 73,551 votes) and Jonathan Toews (71,734) are ranked fourth and fifth, while defenseman Duncan Keith (66,723) takes sixth and goaltender Corey Crawford sits in eighth place. By Friday, defenseman Brent Seabrook moved up to 10th – giving the Hawks five spots out of the top 10.
Patrick Kane
Kane is clutch-with-a-k. He puts up wild points in pivotal moments, like the one that brought Chicago its first Stanley Cup after a 49-year slump in 2010.
On Oct. 26th, he earned his 500th career point–a career he’s spent entirely with the Blackhawks, bringing in two Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Calder Memorial Trophy.
Jonathan Toews
Toews is part of the Kane-Toews duo that has brought two cups to the Windy City in just a few years. Toews also has Conn Smythe Trophy, as well as the Frank J. Selke Trophy. He has some milestones of his own this season, including scoring his 200th goal earlier this month.
Duncan Keith
Keith is a two-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner, an award given to the league’s best all-around defenseman. He consistently excels offensively in addition to his role on defense.
Brent Seabrook
Another member of the “core,” Seabrook is another strong two-way defenseman. Awarded the alternate captain honor repeatedly throughout his eight seasons as a Blackhawk, Seabrook is continuously relied upon in high pressure moments.
Corey Crawford
Another clutch player and beauty on the ice is starting netminder Crawford. Winner of the William M. Jennings trophy and in-net acrobat, Crawford is good for stopping points in touchy situations. He has a .926 save percentage and 1.98 Goals Against Average so far this season.
Other teams’ leaders
Sidney Crosby from the Penguins leads voting the forwards. P.K. Subban is first overall in votes for defensemen, and fellow Montreal Canadien Carey Price is on top for goaltenders.
Voting concludes Jan. 1, the same day as the Bridgestone Winter Classic, when the top six (three forwards, two defensemen, one goaltender) will be selected for their places in the 2015 Honda NHL All-Star game. As an example, if the team were set based on Friday afternoon’s standings, Crosby, Kane, Toews, Subban, Keith, and Price would be the fan selections.
Fans can log their votes, in English, French, German, Czech, Finnish, Russian, Slovak, and/or Swedish, at: NHL.com/vote.