Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard scored the winning goal with 20.9 seconds left for the Eastern Conference to squeeze past the West 8-7 in the NHL All-Star game on Sunday.
Early on it looked as though it would be a night for the West when Rick Nash scored the first of his three goals a record-quick 12 seconds into the game. But the East took charge with five straight goals, including two by Alex Ovechkin.
Yet in the end, after the West erased a 5-1 deficit to go ahead 7-6, Savard -- a former star for the host Atlanta Thrashers -- brought the local fans out of their seats to cheer for him again.
"It wasn't a tough shot, but it sure felt good when it went in," Savard said. "I got booed on Saturday and a little today, but I liked playing here for the Thrashers. It got my career on track. It felt great to come back and play in the All-Star game. Getting the winning goal just made it more special."
Leading up to the game, there was much talk about who wouldn't be at the All-Star game. Sidney Crosby, the defending MVP pulled out due to a sprained ankle, and starting goalies Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo both withdrew for personal reasons.
That left it wide open for many others to grab the attention. Of the 42 players, 15 made their All-Star debuts.
Ovechkin made an early bid, followed by Nash, and even goalie Evgeni Nabokov.
In the end it was Savard, known way more for passing the puck than shooting it. The play-making forward, second in the NHL in assists, buried the puck behind first-timer Manny Legace just when it seemed overtime was inevitable.
"I expected him to shoot," Legace said. "I had no chance. I just hoped he'd miss the net. There was nothing I could do."
Carolina's Eric Staal got the East even at 7 with 7:25 left by scoring his second of the night, then helped set up Savard for the winner. His three points were enough to skate off with the MVP award.
Savard spent parts of three seasons in Atlanta before leaving for Boston as a free agent before last season. The crowd was cheering for current Thrashers star Ilya Kovalchuk but happily settled for a former favorite.
The East's other scorers were Andrei Markov, Brian Campbell and Marian Hossa in this game of few whistles and fewer checks, allowing the all-stars to skate freely and creatively.
Aside from Nash, the West received goals from Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Getzlaf, Dion Phaneuf, and Marian Gaborik.
Nabokov stopped all eight shots he faced, while Florida's Tomas Vokoun made 18 saves in 20 attempts as the East's lead was cut to 5-3.
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum on Sunday combined for 27 points as Shaquille O’Neal’s “Team Shaq” cruised to victory in the new-look NBA All-Star game in San Francisco. Curry, playing on his home court at Golden State’s Chase Center, reeled off a string of trademark three-pointers to help his star-studded lineup coast to a 41-25 victory over Charles Barkley’s “Team Chuck.” Boston Celtics star Tatum finished with 15 points after delivering a dominant performance in a starting lineup that also included Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and James Harden. Team Shaq’s preparations for the game had been dealt a blow shortly before tip-off when