Top 5 NHL All-Star Ballot Snubs

• Alexander Semin

Many fans who logged on to the NHL’s website to cast their vote were sure Semin’s absence on the ballot was some sort of joke. Semin has been the Capitals’ best player in November, helping Washington to seven wins in eight games before the team’s recent three-game slide. Semin is fourth in the league in points, and third in goals with 14 in 22 games played. Leaving Semin off the ballot is a travesty, but he’s playing so well that the league will likely have no choice but to find a way to get him in.

• Claude Giroux

Giroux has been sensational for the Flyers this season, using his speed and technical skills to outwit defenders and help his team post big hockey scores. The third-year winger out of Ontario has racked up 23 points in 22 games, and looked like a shoo-in for the All-Star ballot-if not the game itself. The good news for Giroux is that he’s still young and is on pace for a very impressive career. This latest snub by the NHL should provide him with the motivational fuel to finish the season as one of the league’s leaders in points.

• Patrick Sharp

Chicago’s center has been a consummate professional his entire career, but it must have been difficult even for him when he checked the hockey news and found out that he wasn’t on the ballot. Sharp is Chicago’s leading point-getter with 22 and has been keeping the Blackhawks afloat as they struggle to dust off the championship hangover that they’ve been suffering this season. Sharp is putting the puck on goal every chance he gets, and he’ll continue to do the same whether or not he makes it to All-Star game.

• Carey Price

Of all the success stories in sports this year, the resurgence of Carey Price has flown under the radar. After a miserable campaign in 2009-10 in which Price faltered under pressure and eventually lost his spot to Jaroslav Halak during the playoffs, the Vancouver native is finally starting to tap into his vast potential on a nightly basis. Price has put together a great statistical season so far, and the Canadiens have been one of the better teams in the NHL. Price is allowing only 2.05 goals against, and his .932 save percentage is by far the best of his career.

• Jimmy Howard

The Redwings’ netminder has only one loss on the season compared to 11 wins. In other words, Howard has been a fantasy gem and one of the most important cogs in Detroit’s championship-caliber team. Howard has turned aside scores left and right this season, which makes it all the more puzzling that his name was left off the All-Star ballot. Like Giroux, though, Howard still has many years left in his career to make the game and cement himself as one of the NHL’s premier goalies.