The NHL announced the Western Conference All-Star lineup earlier today and two Detroit Red Wings players made the cut. Captain Nicklas Lidstrom will appear in his 10th straight All-Star game (11th overall) while the NHL's nod marks center Pavel Datsyuk his third appearance.

With his 11th All-Star game selection, Lidstrom passes former Red Wings Ted Lindsay and Steve Yzerman for third-best all-time in franchise history. Legendary forward Gordie Howe played in an NHL record 23 All-Star games between 1948-80, and hall-of-famer Alex Delvecchio played in 13 games from 1953-67.

Each team in the Western Conference is represented on the All-Star roster. The game is January 25th in Montreal at the Bell Center.

Congrats to both well-deserving players for their inclusion in the game. While I certainly believe the Wings have more players deserving of a spot, I think I'd rather see the likes of Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa get some time off to rest those bruises and bumps they have collected in the first portion of the season.