The score may have made hockey purists cringe, but for a league desperate to capture the attention of the American public, last Sunday's NHL All-Star Game was a needed success. The best skaters on Earth were on display in Denver for the 51st annual All-Star contest, in which the North American All-Stars came away with a 14-12 win over the Word All-Stars in the highest scoring Game in league history.
The game served as a showcase for what can happen when ridiculous penalties and fights disappear, leaving players to skate virtually without interruption.
The game showcased what happens when ridiculous penalties and fights are eliminated and players are allowed to skate without interruption. The game made it clear to fans why the NHL has been cracking down on penalties in recent years - a wide-open contest is simply more enjoyable to watch. Commercials could not be shown on Sunday without risk of goals being missed, but the goaltenders were still able to make enough spectacular saves to meet the quota for three regular season games. The NHL, fresh off an energetic All-Star Game, is indeed in the best shape it has been in for years.
Mario Lemieux was once again the center of attention on Sunday after announcing that he will indeed return to skate next season. Lemieux, who attracted the lens of nearly every TV camera throughout the contest, received a standing ovation at the start of the game and went on to score two points. His lone goal came on a breakaway in which he easily got the puck past Philadelphia Flyers goalie Roman Cechmanek.
The only person even approaching Lemieux for amount of airtime was his young son - a testament to his father's far-reaching impact on the sport.
The All-Star Game was in more than one way a youth movement, featuring 14 first-time skaters and eight players under 25 years old. In fact, the youngest player in the game - the Flyers' 20-year-old left wing Simon Gagne - grew up idolizing Lemieux. Gagne was fortunate enough to have his locker assigned next to Mario's and to skate on the same line as Lemieux and Brett Hull. Some of the magic must have worn off on Gagne, who has 45 points in 53 games this season, as he skated impressively and scored the game winner for North America.
But Gagne was not the only first time All-Star to shine. The Boston Bruins' Billy Guerin took home MVP honors, scoring a hat trick and two assists. He became the first All-Star to win the MVP award in his inaugural appearance. Guerin was also reunited with his best friend from his former team - the Edmonton Oilers, who traded him earlier this season - Doug Weight. Their all-yankee line - which also included fellow American Tony Amante - proved the most productive in the game, recording six goals and seven assists.
All-Star weekend was also an encouraging time for Bruins' fans. The game featured appearances by Sergei Samsonov and Jason Allison to compliment the MVP performance from Guerin, who also added the fastest skater award in Saturday's skills competition to his trophy chest.
The Bruins' faithful were again treated to a solid performance by 19-time All-Star Ray Borque, who was even able to win the shot-accuracy contest again, his eighth win in 11 years. All this comes as an added bonus to Bruins' fans, who once again have a team above .500 for which to cheer. The Bruins would make the playoffs if the season were to end today, one point ahead of Carolina.
Oh, and native Bostonian Denis Leary did a great job announcing the All-Star game. His biased pontificating proved far less annoying than that of Dennis Miller, his Monday Night Football counterpart, even if the 14-12 score would have been better suited for one of Miller's broadcasts.
