Central coach Bruce Boudreau made his starting lineup all Hawks, but the Pacific jumped on the Central after that first shift and got goals from Cam Fowler and Jeff Carter within the first four minutes.
Simmonds went around Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, a close friend, off a faceoff and finished a feed from New Jersey’s Taylor Hall.
Brent Burns and Mike Smith stole the show as the Pacific won by a (totally real) score of 23-1-1-0. “I want to see Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby because those are the two standards of excellence and dominance in the league right now”. More importantly, the Central Division finished last. WOO. He scored three goals total, including the game-winner in the final.
Central Division goaltenders Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks and Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild both stopped six of 11 shots.
The Metropolitan defeated the Atlantic and earned two points by posting the fastest overall time in the skills relay challenge. Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky stopped seven of 10 shots for the win.
The game went back and forth but the tide turned in the in the final period when Ryan Kesler appeared to double the Pacific Division’s lead to 4-2.
Center ice: Wayne Simmonds opened up with a goal in the lower corner, giving the Metropolitan their first point.
The Atlantic Division’s victory in Saturday’s skills competition gave it the right to choose when it would play and who it would face.
The accuracy competition came next, with John Tavares going from first to worst in the event.
I think I’d rather just see one full game of 5-on-5.
Tavares, Simmonds and Atkinson each registered two goals, while Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Washington left winger Alexander Ovechkin added a marker.
While the four Chicago Blackhawks representatives and members of the Kings’ California rivals were booed mercilessly during pregame introductions – Sharks goalie Martin Jones, another friend and former LA teammate of Simmonds, got the best of it with a 50-50 mix of cheers and abuse – Simmonds was greeted with universal admiration despite having played for the Flyers for almost six seasons now. Carey Price had 3 saves and Tuukka Rask had 8 saves for the Atlantic Division. Would I have been disappointed last season when Leo Komarov would not have gone? No. After all, it was there Simmonds established his National Hockey League roots before blossoming into an All-Star after a trade to the Flyers in 2011. The move paid off, literally, as Gretzky’s team ultimately won and claimed the $1 million prize.
Joe Pavelski scored 22 seconds into the game for the Pacific.
Defensemen Seth Jones and Justin Faulk scored for the Metropolitan Division in the first half.
Had it stood, it would have given the Pacific a 4-2 edge.
The offside review is normally reserved for far more serious games, so it was looked at sideways in some corners.
