Hypothetical battle: Atlantic All-Stars versus the Southeast all-stars

Over at Japers Rink they compiled a list of the Top Forwards, Defenseman and Goalies in their division last week.  Here we profiled the Atlantic Division.  Which begs the question: if the two divisional all-star teams were to meet, who would prevail? 

The Southeast might have more individual talent; with the likes of snipers like Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and solid skilled centers like Eric Staal and Nicklas Backstrom.  The Atlantic has more depth defensively and certainly has more depth in goal – the #3 ranked goalie in the SE was Atlanta’s Kari Lehtonen, compared to New York’s Henrik Lundqvist in the Atlantic.  But that depth doesn’t matter in a single game.

After the jump, some lines and a prediction:

Team Atlantic

 

Malkin-Crosby-Parise

Gagne-Richards-Gaborik

Elias-Carter-Tavares

Langenbrunner*-J. Staal-Okposo*

 

Gonchar/Pronger

Timonen/Streit

Martin/Orpik

 

Brodeur

(Fleury)

 

 

Team Southeast

 

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin

Kovalchuk-Lecavalier-St. Louis

Horton-E. Staal-Booth

Little*-Stamkos-Knuble*

 

Ballard/Green

Pitkanen/Kubina

Enstrom/Bogosian

 

Ward

(Vokoun)

 

**Players with asterik’s next to their names indicate they didn’t make the original posts,I added them just now to fill out the roster.**

 

There’s plenty of firepower in this game, as nine of the Top 18 scorers in the league last season are included.  Lines were made with real game scenarios in mind to keep teammates together (like Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis) for best results.

Which team would win?  Although the Southeast has a tremendous amount of skill up front, the Atlantic doesn’t slouch there either.  I think the Atlantic defense could slow the SE down just a little bit more than the SE defense could.  I’m calling a 5-4 final for the Atlantic, though it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to me if the result was the other way around.

If you were behind the bench how would you set up the lines -- the way I did or would you let Malkin play center and adjust a guy like Carter to the wing?  The possibilities are almost endless with such skill.