Jan. 04--The people have spoken -- many of them with a Latvian accent -- and they've given Latvian-born forward Zemgus Girgensons of the Buffalo Sabres the most votes in fan balloting for the NHL All-Star game.
The NHL on Saturday announced the top six vote-getters, who automatically earned spots in the Jan. 25 game at Columbus. The remaining roster will be determined by the league and will be announced next Saturday.
Girgensons got 1,574,896 votes in balloting that ended earlier this week. The NHL previously estimated that 80% of his support came from his homeland.
The next five vote-getters were from the Chicago Blackhawks: winger Patrick Kane (1,232,201), center Jonathan Toews (1,217,210), defenseman Duncan Keith (1,198,173), goaltender Corey Crawford (1,099,504) and defenseman Brent Seabrook (1,016,992).
Here's a link to some background information on the voting and the All-Star game.
