Sunrise, FL – Saturday morning, the wind picked up with intensity and the nearby ocean waves turned choppy. It was a noticeable change to what happened the day before when smiles, jokes and teasing ruled the night with the Skills Competition.
Things certainly changed Saturday afternoon. That is when the action inside FLA Live Arena became a bit more serious business as the league’s best players representing their respective divisions compete in a winner-take-all, 3-on-3, single-elimination, mini-game tournament.
While the $1,000,000 up for grabs was incentive enough to want to win, there was a sense the players were taking a lot of pride in going after the win. Since the 3-on-3 tournament was designed, the Pacific and Metropolitan Division each have claimed titles while the Atlantic and Central have yet to win the competition.
That changed went he Atlantic joined the winner’s table with a 7-5 win over the Central. 19,250 watched as the League’s stars took their talents to team play and gave fans a tremendous exhibition of speed and skill. Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk was named MVP with 4 goals and 8 points in two games.
The atmosphere was electric and the mini games were the final stage for a wonderful week of hockey. Fans from all over North America enjoyed finding common ground with fans from all loyalties, convening for the love of the game. It was pretty neat to see so many teams represented with fans wearing their favorite club’s jersey.
As for the three mini games, each of which involving two, ten-minute periods, the first game pitted the Central Division against the Pacific Division. Dallas coach Peter DeBoer chose to start Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck in goal for the Central while Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy countered with his own netminder between the pipes, Logan Thompson.
The Central Division started an all-Colorado line with Cale Makar on the back end and Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen up front. The Pacific countered with Los Angeles Kevin Fiala, Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson and former teammate Bo Horvat, now with the New York Islanders, but playing as a Vancouver Canuck for this game after his recent trade to Long Island.
Things started a little slow as each team was feeling each other, but one solved the other just 3:15 into the 1st period. That’s when Nathan MacKinnon took a nifty feed from teammate Mikko Rantanen to take the lead. It took just 32 seconds for Edmonton Connor MacDavid to convert a feed from San Jose’s Erik Karlsson and it was knotted up.
Both teams traded changes until Chicago’s Seth Jones danced behind the Pacific defense when he accepted a slick pass from St. Louis Vladimir Tarasenko. Just more than a minute later, Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson brought the score to even on a pass from former teammate Bo Horvat who represented the New York Islanders in the skills competition after his recent trade, but stuck with the Canucks identity for the game portion of All-Star Weekend.
Before the period ended, Nathan MacKinnon netted his second of the nigh with 1:22 to play in the first of two periods. Rantanen set him up again along with a secondary helper from Makar.
Despite leading in shots 9-7, the Pacific deferred to the Central in the score at 3-2.
TO start the second period, Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner took his position in the Pacific’s net while Nashville’s Juuse Saros arrived in the Central’s blue paint at the opposite end.
The Central welcomed Skinner to the ice by slipping the puck past him 18 seconds into the period. Arizona’s Clayton Keller stick was responsible for it after he accepted a cross ice pass from Tarasenko after the up-ice pass from Jones.
A little more than five minutes later and it was Tarasenko’s turn to light the lamp. Keller had a hand in the assist who also got help from goaltender Saros on his aggressiveness and the open ice available to him. It was 5-2 Central. 
Fifty seconds later, Pettersson netted his second and a little more than a minute later, Karlsson potted a nice centering pass after clanging a shot off the pipe which had Saros beat. It was 5-4.
But Clayton Keller had other ideas and with Skinner off for the extra attacker, he slid the puck down the ice after entering the zone, giving the Central the 6-4 lead.
The game ended that way despite the Pacific outshooting the Central 23-14.
Tarasenko ended the game with a goal and four points. Jones and Keller each had two goals.
The Central had advanced to the Final game.
The second game matched the Atlantic Division against the Metropolitan Division. Boston coach Jim Montgomery chose his own netminder, Linus Ullmark to start in defending the Atlantic net while Carolina coach Rod Brind ’Amour chose to count on New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
As for a starting line-up, Montgomery went with New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington Alex Ovechkin up front. Brind ‘Amour countered with teammates in Florida’s Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk while adding Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk.
It took the Atlantic just thirty-six seconds to get things going. Matthew Tkachuk took a quick pass from Barkov who had help out his own zone from Brady Tkachuk. Just over four minutes in the opening frame, Dylan went in alone on Shesterkin and snapped a quick wrister through his pads for the 2-0 lead.
It seemed to awaken the Metropolitan squad. Just more than five minutes into the period, Columbus’ Johnny Gaudreau took a feed from Rangers forward Artemi Panarin to get on the board. Twenty seconds later Gaudreau scored again, also from a Panarin pass and with help from Philadelphia’s Kevin Hayes.
Less than a minute later, Crosby gave the Metropolitan group the lead on a slot pass from Ovechkin.
Before the period was done, Brady Tkachuk arrived on the scoresheet after taking a cross-ice pass from his brother whose teammate, Barkov, started the play from behind his own goal.
Montreal’s Nick Suzuki converted a cross-ice pass from Toronto’s Mitch Marner to give the Atlantic the lead.
The period ended with an Atlantic shot advantage at 9-7 to help support their 4-3 goal lead.
New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin replaced Shesterkin and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy replaced Ullmark to start the second period.
Gaudreau earned his hat trick just twenty-five seconds in the period, Panarin his helper on the goal. Then Crosby converted an Ovechkin give-and-go to take the lead. Twenty-three seconds later, Crosby got back on the board after taking a Fox pass which came from Crosby starting the play in his own zone and establishing a 6-4 lead.
But goals for the Atlantic never came after that. The Atlantic rattled off the next six goals.
Matthew Tkachuk earned his second of the night just less than four minutes into the period.
Forty-two seconds later, Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov tied the game. Eighty seconds later Suzuki deposited his second of the night on a pass from Boston’s David Pastrnak and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, both players first points of the night.
Just more than three minutes left in the game, Brady Tkachuk nailed down his hat trick, his brother and Barkov again helping support the goal.
With a minute left, Larkin scored an unassisted empty net goal and then with just thirteen second remaining in play, Pastrnak made it 10-6, the final score.
The Atlantic led in shots 23-20 and would now face the Central Division All Stars in the Final.
After the second game, fans were treated to live music performed by Fall Out Boy and the experience was superb.
Coach DeBoer chose to start Saros in the Final while coach Cassidy went with Ullmark. 
DeBoer started the same line-up in the Final as he did in the Central’s first game, an all-Colorado skating trio while Cassidy also stuck with the Panther teammates and Brady Tkachuk.
The Atlantic jumped out of the gate quick with Matthew Tkachuk beating Saros just thirty-seven seconds into the game. Just more than four minutes into the period, Kucherov finished a play started by Matthew Tkachuk, but with finishing touch from Marner and it was 2-0.
With forty-three seconds to go in the period, Larkin fired a drive past Saros thanks to a clever pass from Marner and it was 3-0 after the first period. The Atlantic dominated in shots 14-6.
To start the second period, Hellebuyck came in for the Central while Vasilevskiy arrived to protect the Atlantic net.
Larkin added to the Atlantic’s lead just more than two minutes into the period and Marner was involved again, Kucherov with the secondary assist.
The Central got on the board when Rantanen broke in all alone after a pass from a streaking MacKinnon and start-up play from Makar.
Almost three minutes later Pastrnak fired a shot through Hellebuyck’s legs along the ice and extended the lead to 5-1.
Dallas’ Jason Robertson scored his first of the night under Vasilevskiy’s blocker when Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey’s first assist of the Stars sniper on the hop.
Larkin earned his hat trick just seven seconds later on an unassisted effort, but Keller countered thirteen seconds later, keeping the Atlantic lead at 3.
Just eleven seconds after that, Jones was called for hooking and in mini game play, a penalty shot is awarded on these infractions. Dahlin took the penalty shot, but was unsuccessful. After the ensuring face-off to the right of Hellebuyck, the Buffalo defenseman redeemed himself after taking a feed from Barkov and putting into the Central goal.
The Central scored two more goals, one by MacKinnon with twenty-one seconds left and one by Makar with eight seconds left, but it would not be enough.
The Atlantic took the title and million-dollar check with a 7-5 final score. The victors also held the edge on shots at 25-22.
Next year’s mid-season All-Star Game will be played in Toronto, announced earlier today before the game during Commissioner Bettman’s press conference.
Dennis Morrell has enjoyed many years of experience in the great game as a hockey writer, photographer, goalie coach, player and currently active USA Hockey-certified referee with over 1,600 games in his striped jersey. His passion for the game began in the early 70s with his first glance at skaters in Clayton’s Shaw Park. He can be reached at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com and you can follow him on Twitter at DMMORRELL.
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