Keith, Sharp left off NHL all-star team

DENVER - Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp were left out Wednesday when the NHL added the reserves to the Western Conference all-star team.

With a limited roster it no doubt hurt the chances for Keith and Sharp when the Blackhawks had Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Brian Campbell voted by the fans as starters.

Keith, an all-star last season, won't go to Montreal despite being a plus-24. Sharp will stay home despite 20 goals - more than any of the nine reserves named Wednesday at forward.

Nicklas Lidstrom, Sheldon Souray, Shea Weber and Dan Boyle were named as reserves on defense, joining starters Campbell and Scott Niedermayer.

The nine forwards added were Jarome Iginla, Milan Hejduk, Rick Nash, Mike Modano, Pavel Datsyuk, Dustin Brown, Shane Doan, Keith Tkachuk and Joe Thornton.

Bypassed with Sharp were Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa. The league added Niklas Backstrom and Roberto Luongo as goalies to join J-S Giguere.

Luongo was named despite appearing in only 19 games because of a groin injury. It's not known if he will be healthy enough to play in the Jan. 25 All-Star Game in Montreal.

Kane practices: Patrick Kane practiced in Denver on Wednesday, but it remains doubtful that he will return from his high ankle sprain tonight against the Avs.

Kane has missed the last two games, both victories, which might make it an easier decision for coach Joel Quenneville to keep him out at least one more night.

Without Kane, the Hawks have scored 11 goals in wins over Calgary and Phoenix. Adam Burish, who took Kane's spot, joked the all-star might have trouble getting back in the lineup after Burish had a goal and 2 assists in Tuesday's 6-0 victory over the Coyotes.

Impressive stat: The Hawks are 15-0 against Phoenix, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Vancouver and Dallas. They finished the season series 4-0 against the Coyotes.

"We got beat fair and square by a pretty good hockey club," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said Tuesday.

Tip-ins: Cam Barker has been a healthy scratch for two straight games, which makes one wonder if he might be headed back to Rockford soon. ... Because of the Tennessee-Baltimore NFL playoff game, Saturday's game at Nashville will start a half-hour later at 7:30 p.m. ...

Rockford center Petri Kontiola was named Wednesday to play in the American Hockey League all-star game. Kontiola leads the IceHogs in scoring with 33 points.