Jagr To Sit Out All-Star Game
Jaromir Jagr pulled out of the NHL All-Star game two days after he was rammed into the boards and sat out the third period with dizziness and a headache.
The league announced the withdrawal of the Pittsburgh Penguins star Friday, meaning the showcase game will be without the player who has led the All-Star voting three of the last four years.
He will be replaced on Sunday by Boston Bruins wing Sergei Samsonov, who will be making his first All-Star appearance.
Jagr was hit hard on Wednesday night by Philadelphia's Todd Fedoruk in the first period. He returned briefly but sat out the last period.
At the time, Penguins officials said the four-time scoring champion was held out for precautionary reasons and probably would not miss the All-Star game.
Jagr, who has a team-high 29 goals and 40 assists, was voted a starter for the World team by the fans, who gave him 275,395 votes. That was 56,181 more than the runner-up, Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.
Others originally named to the All-Star game but absent because of injuries are Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis of the St. Louis Blues, Alexander Mogilny of the New Jersey Devils and Vincent Damphousse of the San Jose Sharks.
Samsonov, in his fourth NHL season, ranks second on the Bruins in goals with 21 and third in points with 48. His teammate, Jason Allison, also will be in Denver.
Sunday's All-Star game is the centerpiece of NHL All-Star Weekend, which also includes the Heroes of Hockey game, SuperSkills competition and All-Star FANtasy. A matchup of the U.S. and Canadian national women's hockey teams was scheduled for Friday night.
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