In a relaxed atmosphere and in the image of the host city, the representatives of the Metropolitan section were crowned champions of the All-Star game of the National Hockey League (NHL), beating those of the Central 5 to 3 in the final, Saturday , at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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Franco-Ontarian striker Claude Giroux, whose name is circulating widely in trade rumours, was named tournament MVP, with three goals and one assist.
The team led by Rod Brind’Amour seemed particularly interested in the $1 million winners’ check, taking a 3-1 lead after goals from Chris Kreider, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Giroux.
Each time the Central tried to pick up the score, their rivals responded almost immediately. Joe Pavelski, dean of the event, also brought his people closer in the second period, after seeing Jack Hughes, the youngest player invited to Vegas, make it 4-2.
Clayton Keller and Nazem Kadri were the other scorers for Centrale.
Tristan Jarry stood out late in the game for the Metropolitan with several crucial saves, preventing the holding of an extension.
Explosive semi-finals
Unlike previous years, the semi-final duels did not oppose sections of the same conference.
In the first game of the day, the all-star team from the Metropolitan section advanced to the final by beating the Pacific section by a score of 6 to 4.
Hughes scored the winning goal late in the second period, threading the needle a second time into an empty net.
Quebec’s Jonathan Marchessault, who was playing in his first career all-star game, stood out with a goal and an assist for captain Connor McDavid’s team.
None other than the tough Tom Wilson, called up to replace teammate Alexander Ovechkin, was the first to blacken the scoresheet. Giroux was the most visible attacker on the Metropolitan side.
Later, the representatives of the Central section prevailed 8 to 5 against the Atlantic team in the other semi-final.
Jordan Kyrou and Alex DeBrincat flashed the red light twice for Central.
Quebecers Jonathan Huberdeau and Patrice Bergeron stood out in defeat, both shaking the opposing ropes. Team Atlantic trailed throughout the game.
The only representative of the Montreal Canadiens, Nick Suzuki, had an understated game overall, still reaching the post with a sharp wrist shot. This put an end to his first participation in the weekend of the stars.
The match format has not changed from recent editions, with teams playing three-on-three over two 10-minute periods.
Here is the composition of the different formations. In parentheses, you will find the number of appearances in the All-Star Game for each skater.
Metropolitan
Sebastian Aho, CAR (2nd)
Claude Giroux, PHI (7th)
Jake Guentzel, PIT (1st)
Jack Hughes, NJD (1st)
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WSH (2nd)
Chris Kreider, NYR (2nd)
Tom Wilson, WSH (1st)
Adam Pelech, NYI (1st)
Zach Werenski, CBJ (2nd)
Frederik Andersen, CAR (2nd)
Tristan Jarry, PIT (2nd)
Atlantic
Patrice Bergeron, BOS (3rd)
Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA (2nd)
Dylan Larkin, DET (2nd)
Auston Matthews, TOR (4th)
Steven Stamkos, TBL (7th)
Nick Suzuki, MTL (1st)
Brady Tkachuk, OTT (2nd)
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF (1st)
Victor Hedman, TBL (3rd)
Jack Campbell, TOR (1st)
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (4th)
Peaceful
Leon Draisaitl, EDM (3rd)
Jordan Eberle, SEA (2nd)
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (6th)
Adrian Kempe, LAK (1st)
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK (1st)
Connor McDavid, EDM (5th)
Timo Meier, SJS (1st)
Mark Stone, VGK (1st)
Troy Terry, ANA (1st)
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK (3rd)
John Gibson, ANA (3rd)
Thatcher Demko, VAN (1st)
Central
Kyle Connor, WPG (1st)
Alex DeBrincat, CHI (1st)
Nazem Kadri, COL (1st)
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN (1st)
Clayton Keller, ARI (2nd)
Jordan Kyrou, STL (1st)
Joe Pavelski, DAL (4th)
Roman Josi, NSH (4th)*
Cale Makar, COL (1st)
Juuse Saros, NSH (1st)
Cam Talbot, MIN (1st)
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