NASHVILLE, TN – Sunday in Nashville was a festival of quality hockey that was not what we are all used to from the past.
The normally buzzing downtown was beyond electric. A throng of pre-game fans from all over North America were ignited as Kelsea Ballerini and Dierks Bentley slammed at the Winter Park across from Bridgestone Arena with kicking country music.
It was an aggressively festive atmosphere that set the stage perfectly for an incredible fast paced exhibition of skill.
There was something on the line beyond a day off from the regular season, and beyond the back rub reward that Amy Grant delivered to P.K. Subban. Money was a motivator but the 3-on-3 format seems to have put a fire under the NHL All Stars.
“We were mucking and grinding,” San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns said. “We want to represent our division. That’s the way we roll over there.”
John Scott was voted tourney MVP in the same manner that he wound up in the All Star selection in the first place – by the fans.
Tallying only 5 goals in his 285-game NHL career, he added two more in the 9-6 first round win over the Central Division.
“I thought I would be in the background and enjoy (All-Star Weekend) from behind the scenes, and it definitely didn’t turn out that way,” Scott said.
When the NHL posted the candidates for MVP on the Jumbotron for the fans to choose from, Scott’s name was not one of them. Fans overwhelmingly booed the display, and at game’s end began to chant “MVP… MVP” as he was hoisted up on his teammates’ shoulders.
The NHL eventually gave in and announced his win.
So infectious was his sudden phenomenon that the Hockey Hall of Fame tweeted “Happy to confirm John Scott’s helmet & other artifacts from the @NHL All-Star Game will be on display soon at the Hockey Hall of Fame.”
“I keep saying it was a whirlwind,” Scott said. It went by so fast. I loved it. It was probably the coolest thing I’ve done in hockey, for sure.”
The story of the final game was the intensity and the nearly unpredictable 1-0 final score that saw the Pacific Division down the Atlantic for the championship.
“All the boys in here were dripping with sweat, and it felt good,” Burns said.
The Anaheim Ducks’ Corey Perry netted the only goal of the championship match.
“Oh, for sure,” Perry said of the intensity level. “You look at that last shift, they were trying to score a goal for sure. When you have guys that want to win and are competitive hockey players, you want to go out and you want to perform. You don’t want to look bad.”
Jonathan Quick and John Gibson shared the shutout and managed to out-duel Ben Bishop and Roberto Luongo.
“I probably could have had about four in the first few minutes, but Luongo was there,” San Jose’s Joe Pavelski said. “His head was there and his nob was there. That’s how it works.”
The Pacific outshot the Atlantic 17-16.
“Well, the goalies were so good,” Perry said. “You look around and there’s a lot of firepower on both teams, and it just tells you how good the goalies are nowadays. Guys were playing man on man, playing tight. It was tough to get to the net.”
“It was great,” Burns said. “The city of Nashville did themselves proud. It was unbelievable here. The NHL did a great job. From the guys we’ve been hanging around with and talking to, it’s just been an unbelievable weekend all around. The food has been great. The people have been awesome. I know I see some guys that aren’t sleeping a lot in here because they’re having a fun time at night too. It’s not just us; it’s everybody that has been a part of it.”
Game Photos by Don Haas
Don.Haas@prohockeynews.com
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