The 3-on-3 format was a victor, with the players enjoying the extra space to show off their skills.
Jagr scored his fifth career goal in this event to help the Atlantic beat the Metropolitan 4-3.
The unlikely hero, the everyman had won.
Just looking at statistics, John Scott was a nobody. The lowlight of that piece was that apparently someone from the league office who Scott chose not to name contacted him and said he would be embarrassing his children if he didn’t drop out of the All-Star game.
“I don’t think you can top this”, said Scott, whose Pacific Division All-Stars defeated the Atlantic Division 1-0 in the championship game of the All-Star Game’s 3-on-3 tournament in front of an announced sellout crowd of 17,600 at Bridgestone Arena.
GREG WYSHYNSKI: Great to be here.
Goalie Pekka Rinne allowed three goals and was called for a penalty, which led to a goal, in the first half of the game but also had an assist.
WYSHYNSKI: They’re hardly ever – there have been a few through the years. Johnny played good. Johnny had a good game out there – a couple goals, big hit, fight. But I think a 3-on-3 format, if you’re not trying you’re going to be pinpointed, so I think everyone was definitely trying… Explain how the league dealt with this and reacted to it. He protects them time and time again on the ice.
But it goes beyond that.
To put it floridly, the Internet ached with the desire for John Scott to be named MVP of the NHL’s All-Star Game Sunday night.
Love it!!!!! Have not smiled this much in a long time watching a hockey game.
WYSHYNSKI:…Tell me that my family’s ashamed of me.
While Patrice Bergeron wasn’t present at Monday’s Bruins practice to chat about his NHL All-Star weekend experience, it was still one of the topics of the day after the B’s players skated following five days off for All-Star break.
COYOTES CHARGE: The surprise team of the season has been the Arizona Coyotes, who have overcome years of franchise uncertainty and rebuilding to jump into playoff contention. On the left and right, they are rallying around candidates like Sanders and Trump precisely because they do not “belong” in the political all-star game.
Conveniently enough, he was traded from HIS team to Montreal, but Montreal really didn’t need him, thus they put him in their AHL team…which ships him off to Canada’s East Coast. The new look NHL All Star game was a huge success.
Scott’s two goals tied Hall, Daniel Sedin of Vancouver and Nashville forward James Neal for the most goals at this event. So not only was there an enforcer in the NHL All-Star game. These games are not about who wins and loses, these games are about the people.
The journeyman enforcer – who wrote last week that an unidentified person in the league office tried to talk him out of going after fans voted him in – went from improbable All-Star to MVP of the league’s midseason showcase Sunday.
WYSHYNSKI: Because it wasn’t planned, and they don’t roll with the punches very well, this league.
The NHL also named its three stars for January, with Washington centre Evgeny Kuznetsov, Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford and Pittsburgh defenceman Kris Letang earning the honours.