The New Jersey Devils learned last week that goalie Martin Brodeur will not start in the upcoming All Star Game.  He will start tonight in Philadelphia, which I discussed here.  The NHL made the official announcement today, replacing him with Tim Thomas.  The Eastern Conference management, which includes Devils rookie coach Brent Sutter has not determined who will start in his place.  Then again, Sutter himself may not participate in the game, according to Tom Gulitti's Fire and Ice blog.

Even Devils coach Brent Sutter, who earned a spot in the game as an assistant coach because the Devils had the second best record in the East on Jan. 5, has been crytpic about whether he will show up. When asked about it again this afternoon, he smiled and replied,. "We'll see."

Brodeur mentioned that there are family matters at home but he will not divulge anything further than that, Gulitti said.

“It’s a tough decision,” Brodeur said. “I’ve got some stuff going on with the family back home, so it’s something I just wanted to make sure I was here to take care of. It’s definitely a tough one. It’s such a great weekend to miss. That’s why I waited so long. I tried to avoid making that decision, but I think it’s for the best."

Brodeur would not divulge the details of his "family" stuff other than to say, "health-wise everybody is OK."

Broduer has started 42 of the Devils 47 games this season, is 25-15-2, with a 2.10GAA and .921SV%.  He will start tonight at Philadelphia, an important game that will determine first place in the highly competitive Atlantic Division.

Pittsburgh moved into sole possession even though it lost to Atlanta in the shootout 6-5.  The Penguins were more concerned with the prognosis of star Sidney Crosby, who left Friday night’s game with a high ankle sprain.

He will likely miss 6-8 weeks with a similar injury suffered by teammate goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

In the meanwhile, the Penguins have relied on Evgeni Malkin and Co.  With four points in two games since Crosby's nasty slide into the boards, Malkin has shown he is capable of leading the Penguins.  He also showed some physical play against Atlanta.

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