Penguins' Sidney Crosby picked for 8th All-Star Game, plans to attend

NEW YORK — Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin said Wednesday he will skip the NHL All-Star Game later this month, instead taking a full week to rest.

The league shouldn’t have to look too hard to find a replacement for the captain’s spot on the Metropolitan Division team.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the eighth time in his career when the league released rosters for the annual event Wednesday night.

Crosby said earlier in the day he had no plans to skip the trip.

“I’m planning on going right now,” Crosby said. “It’s a little bit difficult with us because we’re out there for two weeks prior. Logistically, it’s one of those things where I’ll probably stay out there just to go to it. That being said, it’s an honor to go to it. I think right now the plan is to go.”

The Penguins leave Jan. 9 for a five-game western road trip that culminates Saturday, Jan. 19 in Las Vegas. The team then has the next five days off for its CBA-mandated bye week. That’s followed by All-Star festivities Jan. 25-26 in San Jose.

“It’s a little different with the bye week being right against the All-Star break,” Crosby said. “You get that full chunk of time now. It’s all kind of together. I think a lot of guys have that decision to make. Everyone’s fighting different things sometimes. You have to figure out what’s best, but I think a lot of cases, guys know it’s a great honor to go there, too, and try to go.”

Crosby has been selected for the All-Star Game seven times before in his career but has played in only three.

He never has made the same decision as Ovechkin, skipping the game solely to rest and not because of a particular injury situation.

Ovechkin will have to sit out one of Washington’s games as a consequence of skipping the All-Star Game.

“Given a pretty long year last year, it’s up to every guy,” Crosby said. “They’re in a position where he doesn’t mind missing a game as a result of that, so it’s his decision.”

The selection of Crosby was not surprising. In addition to being the face of the game, he also leads the Metropolitan Division in scoring with 18 goals and 48 points in 36 games coming into Wednesday night.

He will be joined by forwards Sebastian Aho (Carolina), Cam Atkinson (Columbus), Mathew Barzal (Islanders), Claude Giroux (Philadelphia) and Taylor Hall (New Jersey), defensemen John Carlson (Washington) and Seth Jones (Columbus) and goalies Braden Holtby (Washington) and Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers).

The omission of Penguins defenseman Kris Letang from the list of 10 is surprising. He is second to Washington’s John Carlson in defenseman scoring in the division with eight goals and 33 points in 38 games.

“For us, we see what he does on a nightly basis and the minutes he plays in situations. He’s a huge part of our team,” Crosby said. “I think, seeing it every day, you appreciate it. I would say he’s in the conversation as far as elite defensemen in the league.”

Letang is one of eight players included in a fan vote for the last spot on the team on the league’s website.

The other candidates are Teuvo Teravainen (Carolina), Nick Foligno (Columbus), Kyle Palmieri (New Jersey), Anders Lee (Islanders), Mats Zuccarello (Rangers), Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia) and Nicklas Backstrom (Washington).

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Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib.