San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl on Saturday scored the game-winning goal as Team Pacific defeated Team Atlantic 5-4 to win the NHL All-Star Game in St Louis, Missouri.
Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson scored twice in the victory, while Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist.
David Pastrnak and Jonathan Huberdeau each had a goal and an assist for Team Atlantic.
Photo: AFP
Pastrnak was named the event’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) with four goals and two assists over his two games.
“We all wanted to win at the end of the day. Too bad we didn’t,” Pastrnak told reporters. “I don’t even know how they got votes in. I would expect the winner to be the MVP, the winning team. If it was voted in by fans, I appreciate the love. Probably wasn’t any fans from the St Louis building. Whoever voted, I appreciate it, I appreciate the love.”
“He’s our MVP on a lot of nights, too, so I’m used to see him going to work,” Team Atlantic and Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters. “He got to play with good players, score a few goals. Too bad we came up a little short.”
The event featured four divisional teams playing three-on-three games with two 10-minute periods.
The title game was more tightly contested than the wide-open semi-finals.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped seven of eight shots as Team Atlantic built a 3-1 first-period lead.
Team Pacific battled back in the second period to tie the game 3-3 and later take the lead 5-4 on Hertl’s goal with 2 minutes, 36 seconds left.
In the semi-finals, Team Atlantic defeated Team Metropolitan 9-5, while Team Pacific beat Team Central 10-5.
In the first semi-final, Team Metropolitan forged a 5-4 second-period lead before Team Atlantic scored five unanswered goals — the final two into an empty net — to advance to the final.
Pastrnak and Ottawa Senators forward Anthony Duclair each scored a hat-trick and added an assist for the winners.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman had a goal and three assists, while Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped six of seven shots in the second period.
Team Metropolitan were led by New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier (two goals, one assist), Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones (one goal, three assists) and Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny (three assists).
In the second semi-final, Team Pacific broke a 4-4 tie with a dominant second period — outscoring Team Central 6-1 to advance to the final.
Hertl scored four goals, including the final three of the second period, to lead the attack.
“I thought Tomas Hertl was really good, he played defense,” Team Pacific and Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “I said: ‘You’re the next Brent Burns.’ I thought he was the next Brent Burns out there, he was awesome for us.”
Draisaitl (three goals, one assist), Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk (two goals, two assists) and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (one goal, three assists) also starred offensively.
Flames goaltender David Rittich stopped nine of 10 shots in the second period to seal the victory and send Team Pacific to the final.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane scored twice for Team Central, while forwards Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets and Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars each had a goal and an assist.
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