High-Scoring Game the Capper to Fun-Filled NHL All-Star Weekend in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ninety-two shots, 29 goals and a whole bunch of mock cheers for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

If this were a Stanley Cup playoff game instead of the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, a lot more Columbus Blue Jackets fans would have gone home happy.

Happier, anyway. 

The staunchly pro-Team Foligno crowd was still treated to hilarity (a fake post-whistle scrum, especially), spectacular goals and acrobatic saves as Team Toews left Nationwide Arena with a 17-12 victory against the hometown favorites. Two Columbus players also put on impressive displays for the home crowd. Nick Foligno had a goal and an assist and game MVP Ryan Johansen had two goals and two assists.

And it was Fleury, once again, in the crosshairs of Blue Jackets fans, although it was far more playful this time.

Last season, Fleury helped the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminate the Blue Jackets in six first-round games; on Sunday, Fleury allowed seven goals on 16 shots during the second period as Team Foligno fell way behind and never recovered. Just about every time Fleury touched the puck, the fans let him have it.

"It was probably the longest 20 minutes of my career," Fleury said.

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

This event has never been designed so goalies can have fun. Fortunately for everyone else and the city of Columbus, the game and weekend had enough fun to go around.

"It just goes to show the support of our game in general," Team Foligno and Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos said. "Packed house at the skills competition last night and packed house in general. Fans all over. It's a pretty cool arena district they have here."

To the credit of fans here, they really dug in their heels for Team Foligno. The heart-stopping, jump-inducing replica Civil War cannon only fires for the home team during the season, and that didn't change in this exhibition game, which is fortunate because 29 cannon fires may have shattered the nerves of a few players.

"I hate the cannon," Team Foligno and Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux said. "It gets me every time."

“It’s loud enough that it gets on your nerves pretty quickly and especially when they score a 12 or so goals like that, it gets you a little bit," Team Toews and Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said.

Much like someone who refuses to ask out a crush for fear of rejection, this game was contested by players that just didn't want to get hurt. There was a moment during the second period of this tentative game when Stamkos burst into the offensive zone at a speed that was reminiscent of those old-timey baseball clips that made it look like Babe Ruth was running 50 miles per hour.

The defense was so loose that one could think each team was attempting to tank for Connor McDavid. Players never give a full back-checking effort in these games, but there were times when there was no back-, front- or side-checking in any capacity, as defensemen routinely offered zero resistance to opponents seeking breakaways.

"There's not too much defense in this," Team Foligno and Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien said. "You just kind of more or less watch these forwards show what they can do. Some of those goals out there…wow.”

That's what fans want to see. And they got to see plenty of scoring.

Team Toews' John Tavares had four goals, including one that involved a between-the-legs move on the way to the net, and he may want to file a report with Columbus police after the NHL stole an MVP car from him. Although that could be a joint report with Jakub Voracek, who had three goals and three assists for the winning side.

As you could imagine, Voracek was irate in the locker room after the game about not being awarded a Honda as MVP.

"Three secondary assists," he joked, "but I wouldn't make a big deal out of it."

Voracek, just like Tavares, could not have cared less about the snub.

If there was an MVP award for the weekend, it probably would have gone to Voracek, whose six points and performance in the skills competition were unrivaled. 

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The weekend as a whole will likely go down as a great success for the city of Columbus. At the very least, it can hold the unofficial title as the city that hosted the drunkest fantasy draft in the three years the league has been allowing players to choose sides on national television. 

The spotlight was on Columbus for three days and everyone around the organization acquitted themselves well.

"It's meant a lot, us being a part of it," Johansen said. "That's all we've been talking about over the last few days is seeing the fans and how much they've been enjoying all the festivities. We did a two-hour signing today at the convention center and everybody just seemed to be having a great time. All the kids were laughing and smiling and having fun. So it's just been a great thing to see these last few days."

"We're so proud of our city for showing that hockey is such a big deal here," Foligno said. "For it to be the main focus and then for us to have been involved in it has been really gratifying for both of us."

An All-Star Game three years in the making didn't leave anyone disappointed.

All statistics via NHL.com and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.