Leading vote-getter Girgensons of Sabres plus 5 Blackhawks are NHL's 1st 6 All-Stars

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The first batch of NHL All-Stars has a distinct Windy City feel as five members of the Chicago Blackhawks are among the initial six selections for the midseason showcase.

Blackhawks forwards Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, defencemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and goalie Corey Crawford earned spots Saturday based on fan voting. The only non-Chicago All-Star in the group is Buffalo Sabres centre Zemgus Girgensons, who was the leading vote-getter in the six-week campaign with 1,574,896.

The All-Star game, the NHL's first in three years, will be held on Jan. 25 in Columbus, Ohio. The remaining roster of players will be announced on Jan. 10.

Kane (1,232,201 votes) and Toews (1,217,210) finished second and third behind Girgensons. Keith (1,198,173) was next, and first among defencemen, and followed by Seabrook (1,016,992), who was sixth overall. Crawford (1,099,504) was one spot ahead of him to win the goalie vote.

Fans cast more than 35 million votes, up 52 per cent from 2012 — the last time the NHL held an All-Star game. Nearly 27 per cent were cast by fans outside of North America — a 7,000 per cent increase from three years ago.

There was no game in 2013 due to an NHL lockout, and none last year because of the league's participation in the Winter Olympics.