The 59th National Hockey League All-Star Game, (also known as the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Game) took place on January 29, 2012 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This edition of the All-Star Game featured the "fantasy draft" format first seen in the previous 2011 NHL All-Star Game. The participating players voted for team captains, selecting Daniel Alfredsson of the All-Star host Ottawa Senators and Zdeno Chara of the defending Stanley Cup champions Boston Bruins.

This marked the first time the city of Ottawa hosted an NHL All-Star Game. Ottawa has hosted two drafts, a Stanley Cup Final, and the World Junior Championships all in the past five years. It marked the 20th anniversary of the Ottawa Senators joining the NHL. It was the second All-Star Game that Canada has hosted in the past three years, as the Montreal Canadiens hosted it in 2009.

Melanie and Jay Blackwell are the Lemon Heaven operators, acting as sub-contractors for Aramark, which is the host food service company at Scotiabank Place. Melanie, being a huge fan of The Senators and NHL in general, had a great time working the multiple events throughout the week.

In conjunction with the game and the skills competition, events were held from January 26 through January 29. The NHL held a "Fan Fair" at the Ottawa Convention Centre. The Fan Fair had displays of the NHL's trophies, autograph signings, interactive displays and presentations and broadcasts by the NHL's SiriusXM and NHL Network partners. Team and all-star game merchandise and memorabilia was also for sale. Events were held on the Rideau Canal, at Confederation Park and at the Byward Market. Ottawa's annual Winterlude winter carnival opened its site at Confederation Park one week early for the game weekend. 

Weather conditions forced the closure of the Rideau Canal to public skating during the weekend. The trophy procession and junior skills competition were able to be held on the canal according to schedule. The Energizer Night Skate was moved to the "Rink of Dreams" ice rink nearby.

Interest in the four-day festivities broke records across the board in terms of North American television ratings and digital consumption, according to figures released by the National Hockey League. Across the continent, 17.7 million viewers tuned in to all or part of NHL All-Star Weekend events, including the Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Fantasy Player Draft held at the Hilton Lac Leamy. Those events were televised on CBC, TSN and RDS in Canada, and by the NBC Sports Network in the United States.

In Canada, CBC recorded its highest viewership for the NHL All-Star Game and skills competition since the current system of audience measurement was instituted in 1989-90. In all, 10.2 million viewers tuned into at least some part of CBC's coverage, representing 30 per cent of the Canadian population. Meanwhile, the player draft attracted 1.34 million viewers on TSN and another 254,000 on RDS. A total of 3.7 million unique viewers saw at least part of the telecast.

Team Chara prevailed in the actual game, outscoring team Alfredson 12 - 9. Marion Gaborik's hat trick was good enough to earn him MVP of the tournament. Team Alfredson completely dominated the skills competion, which was held on the Saturday, January 28th. For more details click here.