NHL All-Star Game 2015 Results: Score and Twitter Reaction

A two-year hiatus preceded Sunday's highly anticipated NHL All-Star Game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Team Toews emerged with a 17-12 win over Team Foligno in a contest that lacked defensive effort, overall energy and enthusiasm for how much hype surrounded it.

Despite being on the losing side, Ryan Johansen of the Columbus Blue Jackets managed to win the MVP award on the strength of two goals, two assists and some home-fan favoritism.   

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated was among those underwhelmed by the quality of hockey on display from many of the NHL's biggest names:

Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times highlighted the historic scoring mark the two teams posted Sunday:

The 29 total goals bested the prior record for goals in an NHL All-Star Game of 26, which occurred in 2001.

SportsNation reacted to the action:

Leading all players with four goals was New York Islanders captain John Tavares. ESPN Stats & Info noted the elite company Tavares joined in adding to his hat trick:

Philadelphia Flyers left winger Jakub Voracek started his career in Columbus and performed well on Sunday in front of the fans who used to cheer him on. Voracek helped lead the victorious charge for Team Toews with three goals and three assists.

Voracek spoke before the game about his evolution as a player since his days as a Blue Jacket, per The Columbus Dispatch's Aaron Portzline:

"

Every season I play in the NHL, I think I've gotten a little bit better. You get older. You get stronger. You get smarter.

Sometimes you try things, they don't work. So you try them again. They still don't work, you better try something different or you work harder. That's just experience, right?

"

NHL Public Relations noted another scoring milestone achieved thanks to Tavares and Voracek:

Players appeared to be skating at half speed amid the high-scoring affair, as goaltenders were left in compromising positions against some of the planet's best forwards. That led to a ton of lamplight shenanigans and an almost nonchalant attitude by those who scored goals.

Team Foligno's Johansen made the home Blue Jackets fans happy when he tied the game at two apiece at 11:05 into the first.

The NHL broke down how Johansen got his second goal of the first period at the 16:24 mark off a beautiful feed from Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin:

The fact that Johansen and Ovechkin were so easily able to play a two-man game in that sequence is a testament to the lackluster defense on display.

The two teams combined for a whopping eight goals in the first period, and they were just getting warmed up. In the second period, the teams combined for 11 goals and another scoring milestone, via NBC Sports:

Within the first minute of the second period, both sides managed to find the net, prompting this tweet from the NHL:

Team Toews took an 11-8 advantage in to the second intermission and outscored Team Foligno 6-4 in the third period to secure the 17-12 victory.

While the unusual amount of goals scored in recent All-Star Games may make the game slightly more interesting from a casual perspective, many fans do not enjoy the lack of defensive effort. Therefore, it is clear that something needs to be done to enhance viewer interest in this game. The NHL can't be pleased by the exhibition-type feel, a problem the NFL has also struggled with in putting on the Pro Bowl.

Rule changes in pro hockey have been made over the years to create faster-paced action, superior entertainment and ultimately more offense. But what this All-Star Game has become isn't exactly what league officials had in mind.

Now that the game has at least returned for the first time in a few years, the NHL can look back on this one as a chance to make improvements and create a more competitive 2016 edition.