Not only was the game start at an awkward time: 6 PM Eastern. Not only was it hidden on Versus. It was even more boring, with 1 hit, yes 1 official hit, and 1 penalty. No checking, certainly no fighting, it was a basketball game on ice. Maybe even a girl's basketball game.
It ended 12-11 in favor of the East in a shooutout. For the second year, Tim Thomas received the goaltending Win. And he actually was the best of the 6 goalies that played, stopping 19 of 22 shots for a game best 0.864 save percentage. He didn't yield a goal in the shootout, allowing Alex Ovechkin to win it for the Eastern Conference.
The MVP went to Alex Kovalev, who had 2 goals and an assist.
Marc Savard had 3 assists, tied with Joe Thornton for most in the game.
Zdeno Chara didn't have a great night. Then again, what defensive-minded defenseman did? Almost all of Chara's offense comes on the power play, and there was only 1 of those. He did, however, lead all skaters in time-on-ice.
The NHL All-Star Game is perhaps the worst of all 4 All-Star contests. It's fake hockey, not real. The NBA All-Star Game has more defense.
In the skills competition, Zdeno Chara won Hardest Shot for the 3rd straight year. He set a new record at 105.4 MPH and also won $24,000 for Right to Play, his favorite charity.
Marc Savard didn't win the Shootout Elimination, but he came close, advancing to the 6th of 7 rounds. He was assisted by Tim Thomas, who was his designated goalie for 2 of 3 shots. Thomas flopped on the ice and allowed Savard to score twice. Here's Thomas trying to make a glove save between his legs.
Rookie Blake Wheeler had a hat trick and won MVP honors in the Young Stars game as the freshman team defeated the sophomore team 9-5.
Thankfully nobody got injured. Now it's back to real hockey. Capitals @ Bruins tomorrow night.
-The Commodore
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