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.
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
ABYSMAL: Wolves have equaled their worst top-flight run since 1981-1982, and they will equal the league’s longest winless start if they fail to win their next two matches Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim on Monday said his team had “improved a lot” after they climbed back into the race to qualify for the UEFA Champions League as Bruno Fernandes inspired a 4-1 rout of woeful Wolverhampton Wanderers. Amorim’s side recovered from their disappointing draw with lowly West Ham United last week thanks to Fernandes’ double and goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount at Molineux. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde had canceled out Fernandes’ opener with Wolves’ first goal in six games in all competitions and their first in the top-flight since Oct. 26. However, Mbeumo, Mount and Fernandes netted after
RSS