Dylan Larkin scored three goals in the final and the Atlantic Division stars beat the Central Division stars in an offensive feast that ended 7-5.
After scoring two goals in the semi-final, Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki was cleared from the scoresheet in the win.
Crowd favorite Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist in the final to take his tally to four goals and seven points in two games. He was named the NHL All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
“It’s an honor to play in front of the Panthers fans this season,” Tkachuk said of the crowd support since being traded by the Calgary Flames. It’s nice that other players can see what a beautiful place it is. ”
Mitch Marner fueled his Atlantic teammates profusely, finishing the game with three assists. He amassed six assists during the mini-tournament.
“It was fun to be here,” said the forward. It was a good game and several players put all their effort into it. ”
Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar cut the deficit to two goals late in the game, but the Atlantic stars held on for victory.
The Avalanche shined again in the final. Cale Makar had a goal and two assists in the final, while teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen had two points apiece.
The formula consisted of two semi-finals played 3 against 3 for two periods of ten minutes. One of the two matches opposes the Central section to the Pacific section and the other is disputed between the Atlantic and Metropolitan sections. The winners of each of the two duels will face off in the grand finale with a million dollars at stake.
One player was selected to each of the NHL’s 32 teams and twelve other entrants were elected by fan vote.
Semi-finals: the Atlantic joins the Central in the final
Matthew Tkachuk scored a hat-trick and Nick Suzuki scored a brace to help the Atlantic Section team beat the Metropolitan Section 10-6 and advance to the final.
The Atlantic scored six unanswered goals late in the game to put an end to the hopes of Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and the Metropolitan.
In addition to his three goals, Matthew Tkachuk had two assists for a five-point haul. His little brother Brady didn’t look bad with a goal and three assists.
Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin had two goals and an assist, while Aleksander Barkov and Mitch Marner both had three assists.
In the loss, Metropolitan veterans Alex Ovechkin (1 goal, 2 assists) and Sidney Crosby (2 goals and 1 assist) put on the show with three points apiece.
Johnny Gaudreau signed a hat trick in the camp of the Metropolitan. Artemi Panarin collected three assists.
The Atlantic could rely in particular on a certain Andrei Vasilevskiy who repelled 10 of the 13 shots aimed at him.
Who knows if this will be Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin’s last appearance together.
“You try to show up and have fun enjoying the moment,” Crosby said when asked if he enjoyed the atmosphere more, coming to his fifth All-Star Game and his fourth with Ovechkin. Hope it wasn’t our last. This is the best way to see this. ”
The Central silences Connor McDavid
The Central Section squad defeated the Pacific Section by a score of 6-4 to earn a ticket to the All-Star Game final.
With the complicity of his Avalanche teammates Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon distinguished himself with two goals in the first period of play. Vladimir Tarasenko participated in the spectacle with a goal and three assists, while Clayton Keller scored a brace in addition to obtaining an assist.
Jusse Saros shone in front of the Central net, repelling 11 of the 13 shots aimed at him. A remarkable performance considering he was facing the Edmonton Oilers two-headed monster, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
McDavid finished the game with a single goal and Draisaitl picked up an assist. Elias Pettersson led the Pacific side with two goals.
The Pacific semifinal loss also meant the last time Bo Horvat, who was traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Islanders earlier this week, played with former teammate Elias Pettersson.
Both completed a play allowing Pettersson to score.
“It was kind of sad to know that was the last time we were going to play together,” Horvat said. I’m happy that we were able to score a goal together and have one last chance. I will miss him very much. He’s a good person and a good player. He is going to achieve many good things in the future,” Horvat said.
Here are the trainings:
Metropolitan
Sidney Crosby
Johnny Gaudreau
kevin hayers
Jack Hughes
Brock Nelson
Alex Ovechkin
Artemi Panarin
Andrei Svechnikov
adam fox
Igor Shesterkin
Ilya Sorokin
Atlantic
Alexander Barkov
Nikita Kucherov
Dylan Larkin
Mitch Marner
David Pastrnak
Nick Suzuki
Brady Tkachuk
Matthew Tkachuk
Rasmus Dahlin
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Linus Ullmark
Central
Kirill Kaprizov
Clayton Keller
Nathan Mackinnon
Mikko Rantanen
Jason Robertson
Vladimir Tarasenko
Seth Jones
Hold Makar
Josh Morrissey
Connor Hellebuyck
Juuse Saros
Peaceful
Leon Draisaitl
Kevin Fiala
Bo Horvat
Nazem Kadri
Connor McDavid
Elias Pettersson
Chandler Stephenson
Troy Terry
Erik Karlsson
Stuart Skinner
Logan Thompson