It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for on this All-Star weekend! The NHL All-Star Game has finally reached us, and I’m going to do my best to recap the chaotic three-on-three event for you. Go easy on me, I’m new at this.
Let’s go!
Atlantic vs Metropolitan
First Half:
Scoring opened up quick (shocker) Kris Letang scored a goal setup by Evgeni Malkin. Dylan Larkin is officially a minus-one at this stage of the game. The next goal came for team Atlantic, Erik Karlsson sniped one home, Larkin drew the assist.
Let me take a moment to talk about Dylan Larkin and Erik Karlsson’s chemistry together. It only makes sense, right? Both all-stars, both young and talented, oh, and not to mention future NHL teammates.
I quickly started realizing how difficult it was to track every goal in the All-Star Game. Larkin ended the half with two assists, one of them setup Jaromir Jagr for this breakaway chance:
Second Half:
This phase of the game opened up a bit. I started seeing some more chances. Larkin continued to look like hell on wheels, just having impressive outings shift-after-shift. Yeah, yeah, it’s the All-Star Game. Most of these guys are hungover, but I’ve never seen a Red Wings rookie in this even. Let me have this.
I know I talked about Larkin’s chemistry with Karlsson’s earlier, but what about with PK Subban?
The Atlantic pulled away with a 4-3 win over the Metropolitan. Dylan Larkin notched a team-leading three points, and was the only multi-point player for his team.
Central vs Pacific
First half:
Now it’s time for the stupid, and less-handsome Western Conference match-up. James Neal opened up the scoring for the Central. In related news, no one cares about James Neal because JOHN SCOTT SCORED A GOAL!!:
His celebration was the best part:
Don’t really care about much that happened after that, honestly. Except Patrick Kane tried to “fight” John Scott. I wish John would have done it. For as much flak has been thrown at Scott for the past, he sure has made this entire event 100% more enjoyable, and fun to watch.
Second Half:
The scoring continued in the second half, and the match became more and more fun, because John Scott scored another goal on the breakaway!:
The Pacific went on to defeat the Central on a score of 9-6. It was an awesome game. Much more awesome than the NHL’s choice of musical talent for this event. I know it’s Nashville, but c’mon. The music was awful. Everything else was delightful!
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Okay, it’s time for the main event. Dylan Larkin vs John Scott.
Pacific vs Atlantic
First Half:
Wait, where did the scoring go?! It all opened up with a few good chances, but some spectacular goaltending by Roberto Luongo. Both him and Jonathan Quick kept it scoreless. At one point I say Dylan Larkin skating with Patrice Bergeron and PK Subban and got super excited, but then realized that it would never happen again. How can we make that happen? Jakub Kindl and a 3rd? *sad trombone*
Well, the goaltenders were magnificent. Big saves, left and right. It’s 0-0 after the first half.
Second Half:
The Pacific broke the tie on a goal from Corey Pukey, I mean Corey Perry. He went far-side on Ben Bishop, who isn’t very good to begin with so whatever. Perry scored the next goal, even though Taylor Hall made some contact with Bishop in the blue paint. The goal was challenged by Gerard Gallant, and it was eventually called back.
The rest of the game tilted in the other direction. The Atlantic team took over, and started to create handfuls of chances. Many of these chances came from Dylan Larkin. Team Pacific held onto the 1-0 lead, and won the game.
The headline for tonight? John freaking Scott. The NHL All-Star Game MVP. Just an incredible story. Here are some GIFs, and I will leave it at that. Your kids are going to be proud, John:
Best All-Star Game ever.
