Karlsson, Lundqvist lead NHL.com All-Star vote

Fan voting for the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game in Nashville opened Tuesday at noon ET.

The voting format has changed this year to reflect the change in the game's format. Fans will be allowed to vote for one player from each division, and the leading vote-getter in each division will serve as the captain of his division's team.

The 2016 All-Star Game will be a 3-on-3 winner-take-all affair contested among teams from each of the four divisions.

Each division's roster will have six forwards, three defenseman and two goalies. One player from each division will be voted onto the team by the fans; the other 40 players will be selected by the NHL Hockey Operations Department. Each team will have at least one player from every team in its division.

The Atlantic Division will face the Metropolitan Division in one semifinal; the Central Division will face the Pacific Division in the other semifinal. The winners will play in the championship game. Games will be 20 minutes in length and will be decided by a shootout if tied after the 20 minutes.

Below are the opening-day ballots from 10 NHL.com writers:

A few interesting trends developed across the 10 ballots cast:

* Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson appears to be a shoo-in to be captain of the Atlantic Division, receiving nine of the 10 votes.

* The stars of the Washington Capitals' strong early start split the vote for Metropolitan Division captain, with forward Alex Ovechkin and goalie Braden Holtby each receiving two votes. That allowed New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist to take a dominating lead with the other six votes.

* Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, who leads the League in scoring, received the second-highest vote total with seven. Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn, who won the Art Ross Trophy last season, received the other three votes in the Central Division.

* The race for Pacific Division captain should be a wide-open affair as seven players received at least one vote, including three members of the San Jose Sharks. Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin (three) and Sharks forward Joe Pavelski (two) were the only Pacific Division players to receive more than one vote.