Metropolitan Division Wins NHL All Star Game

In most professional sports all star games are tedious affairs that offer little interest for either bettor or fan. Pro hockey is the exception. Once again, the National Hockey League put on a very entertaining All Star weekend that culminated in the new ‘tournament’ format All Star Game. The format matches teams selected from all four divisions competing in a ‘three on three’ mini-tournament. Three on three hockey has been a big hit since implemented as part of NHL overtime and the multi-division matchups mean that roughly the same number of players are selected as All Stars. For 2019, the Metropolitan Division emerged as the winner of the All Star Game with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby being named the All Star MVP.

The first semifinal game was a matchup between the two Western Conference divisions as the Central took on the Pacific. Unfortunately, this game was a blowout from the opening whistle with Central Division going up a 10-1 on the Pacific before cruising to a 10-4 victory. Gabriel Landeskog scored hat trick with Patrick Kane and Mikko Rantanen each contributing two goals apiece. Roman Josi, Ryan O’Reilly and Mark Scheifele also scored goals for the Central Division All Stars. The Pacific Division was led by Erik Karlsson who scored a pair of goals. Brent Burns and Johnny Gaudreau also added individual tallies.

The next semifinal featured the Eastern Conference and was much more closely contested. Ultimately, the Metropolitan Division beat the Atlantic Division 7-4. While the final score suggests a one sided affair that wasn’t the case–the score was tied 4-4 late in the game before three straight goals by the Metropolitan Division team created the disparate final margin. Seth Jones and Sidney Crosby each scored two goals for the Metropolitans with Sebastian Aho, Cam Atkinson and Kris Letang adding single goals. The Atlantic Division got four goals from four different players—Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares.

In the final, the Metropolitan Division had little trouble handling the Central Division. The Eastern Conference representatives opened up a 5-1 advantage over the Central and went on to win 10-4. The Central Division’s goaltending dropped off precipitously after Devan Dubnyk took over in goal for the Nashville Predators backstop Pekka Rinne. Dubnyk allowed the first goal at the 0:22 mark and a second goal just a minute and a half later. The Metro got two more goals from Sidney Crosby in the final along with a pair each from Cam Atkinson and Matthew Barzal. Claude Giroux, Kris Letang and Kyle Palmieri each scored as well. For the Central, Mikko Rantanen had a pair of goals along with Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly and Brandon Wheeler.