The plusses and minuses of the All-Star Game

	Two reasons to watch: Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. The NHL's brightest young stars will skate on the same line. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
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DALLAS -- As much as most reporters gripe about the NHL All-Star Game, I still love being here. This is my 10th opportunity to cover the event, and while the early excitement has long since worn off, there's always something special about being around hockey's finest. Absent the pressures of a playoff race for a few days, everyone -- from the players up to the owners -- is a bit friendlier, a bit more quotable. It's a good time.

Of course, that doesn't mean the event is without drawbacks. In the U.S., it's a non-entity. The format dilutes the essence of what makes hockey great. And the date and time make it difficult for busy families or youngsters to watch.

With the NHL eager to boost its profile, here are some of the selling points and challenges I see about All-Star Week.

What I like

New faces: Sidney Crosby was a 16-year-old rookie with the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec junior league the last time the All-Star Game was held. This year, he makes his All-Star debut as the leading vote-getter and poster child for an event -- and a league -- that is undergoing a generational shift.

Of the 42 players scheduled to appear, 21 are first-timers. So are six of the 12 starters, making this the first All-Star Game where both the players and the fans will need a program to know who's who.

And that's a good thing. No matter what problems the league is facing, a shortage of exciting and marketable young talent isn't among them. Wednesday night will be a showcase for the growth potential of the game.

Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin on the same line: If it weren't for the quirk of the draft lottery, we might have been able to watch these two magnificent talents playing off each other on a nightly basis in Pittsburgh. As it is, it'll be worth the price of admission to see what kind of magic they'll conjure together, at least for the next few years, at this annual event. And even though they'l line up for the Eastern Conference, the battle to one-up the other for the highlight of the night could make for the event's most compelling drama.

Tuesday's warm-up act: Waaaaay back in the day, I saw Guns N' Roses open up for The Cult at a mid-size club in Detroit. Ian Astbury and the boys were the stars who sold the tickets, but GNR's intensity blew them out of the water. From the moment Axl and Co. took the stage, you could tell it mattered more to them.

I've come to expect pretty much the same from the All-Star festivities. The big game has the big names, but it's a little too self-satisfied at this point to put in the effort. There are no such problems on Tuesday night, where pride is on the line. The young stars want to prove they belong on the main stage, and the veterans are looking to take home bragging rights as the league's best at a given skills challenge. If you've only got one night to invest in the festivities, this is the one to watch.