All-Star Game: East 8 - West 7

So the All-Star game just ended and I have to say the NHL did a great job this weekend. The arena was packed tonight and the fans got really into it the game. The beginning events on Saturday were great to watch. Many of the problems that ruined last year's Skills Challenge were fixed very well. The youngstars game was fun with just 3 on 3. There was plenty of open ice for the future of the NHL to show their skills, and that they did. I really like the new shootout challenge. Hopefully it could become the NHL's slam dunk contest or homerun derby. The players got very creative and I feel if the event continues so will the creativity and excitement. I think my favorite part about the skills challenge is that almost all the players are included. Its good for the fans to see every All-Star compete in an event that can showcase what makes them an All-Star. No other professional sports All-Star game has that. A definite A+ for the Skills Challenge.

Moving on to the game that just happened. That was some game in my book. It was close, there was a good balance of offense and goaltending, and overall it was a lot of fun. The players worked pretty well together and the goalies were making some unbelieveable saves. I was suprised how well some of the lines were passing the puck. Overall, the best talent in the NHL really showed their stuff tonight.

Staal, no not Marc, Eric, earned MVP honors with 2 goals and 1 assist. He scored the game tying goal and assisted on the game winning goal by Savard. I personally would've given the award to Nabokov. He didnt give up a goal in his period, something that hasnt happened since 2002. It was a crucial period too since the West was down by 4 to start it off. All I know is that the game was great, the players came out ready to play. I mean come on, they somehow had a marching band on ice after the 2nd period. Thats impressive.

As for our boy Gomez, he played as he usually does. He passed the puck well and often, he got himself an assist and won 3 of 5 faceoffs. Nothing special but hey he represented us well.

Now after reading this you would think the event was perfect. But there was one problem. It was on Versus. Many people didnt even have the oppurtunity to watch an All-Star game that was very entertaining. It had defense in the form of goaltending, something the NBA event doesnt have any of. Everyone got to play a significant amount of time, unlike the MLB All-Star game. And dont even get me started with the Pro Bowl. Every hockey fan knows that the sport isnt as popular as it should be. This game tonight is one big reason. My friends and fellow writers couldnt watch the game because they dont get Versus. A game like this is something that could get people into hockey, unfortunately they would need Versus, a channel with hockey and bull riding that most people dont have. This has to change soon to get some exposure out there. Other than that, it was great event.