2019 NHL All-Star Game Recap

The Metropolitan Division emerged victorious at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose, California with a 10-5 victory over the Central Division. This is the second time the Metropolitan division has won the tournament since the NHL switched to a 3-on-3 format in 2016. Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, notched two goals and three assists in the final game against the Central Division. His overall performance during the tournament led to Crosby being named Most Valuable Player. In addition to Crosby, excellent goaltending by New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist kept the Metropolitan All-Stars in the game. On the heels of his win at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition the night prior, he posted a shutout in the first period. Many fans believe that Lundqvist should have won MVP instead.

The first matchup was the Central Division against the defending champions, the Pacific Division. The Central Division opened scoring just one minute and three seconds into the first period with a goal by Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen. The Central Division would go on to blow out the Pacific Division 10-4. Colorado Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog completed a hat trick, and his teammate Rantanen and Chicago’s Patrick Kane also scored multiple times.

The second game was the Metropolitan Division versus the Atlantic Division. Although the Atlantic Division is doing better in the standings than the Metropolitan, their All-Stars could not rout the likes of Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Columbus’ Seth Jones. Both of these players scored twice. Sidney Crosby’s first goal came just 15 seconds into the first period. For the Atlantic Division, Buffalo’s Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner, Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos, and Toronto’s John Tavares scored. However, it wasn’t enough to lift them over the Metropolitan Division. The score was 7-4.

Written by Charlie Crudup