2011 NHL All-Star Game: A Hockey Fan's Running Diary

This year for the 2011 All-Star Game, I have decided to keep a running diary of my thoughts and observations while watching the event.  Here is my minute-by-minute recap of the game, beginning five minutes before Versus' broadcast of the All-Star Game got started.  

3:55 PM: Someone needs to help Versus’ Brian Engblom out with his mullet.  Use Pantene Flo-V, or call Barry Melrose and/or Ryan Smyth for advice.  Here’s hoping the broadcast of the game turns out better than Versus’ coverage of the Honda SuperSkills last night. 

3:57: Also just want to say that the success of the fantasy draft on Friday night proves that Brendan Shanahan is one of the brightest and most creative minds in hockey. 

4:01: Was there any question that Zdeno Chara was going to win the hardest shot? 

4:02: Has there ever been a sporting event where the commentators don’t say, “the people of this city are the most gracious hosts” no matter where the game takes place?  When Doc Emerick said the people of Raleigh were the “best hosts,” I took it with a grain of salt. 

4:03: Another thought on the skills competition from last night: the on-ice commentators made the events so much more confusing, and not just for viewers, as seen by the embarrassing do-over situation with Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews during the accuracy shooting.

4:05: I had a feeling that, if the All-Star Game is in Carolina we would be seeing either A) Ron Francis or B) Rod Brind’Amour.  Five minutes in, Rod Brind’Amour skates to center ice for a well-deserved standing ovation. 

4:07: Speak of the devil, there’s Ronny Francis skating to center ice to join Brind’Amour.  The two biggest stars in franchise history. 

4:09: Nicklas Lidstrom, Eric Staal, let the games begin.

4:12: Jonas Hiller looks a lot more like an NHL player without the specs he was rocking on Friday night. 

4:13: Shea Weber has the best “you’re finished” face in the league.  That guy doesn’t crack smiles too often on TV. 

4:13: As a Capitals fan, I hated how the HBO series made Marc-Andre Fleury look like a likeable guy because unfortunately he’s starting to grow on me. 

4:14: During the lineup announcements, I couldn’t help but ask myself the question “how often does Danny Briere get carded at beer stores?” 

4:15: Nice work by the Hurricanes fans, applauding Peter Laviolette.  He got fired prematurely by the team after leading them to a Cup in 2006.

4:16: Quick thought on Ovechkin: I was pleasantly surprised by his performance in the breakaway competition last night.  Somewhere inside him, he’s still got his mojo. 

4:17: How many times can the commentators play out the Staal brothers and Sedin brothers' story lines?

4:18: Henrik Lundvquist is the NHL player I could most easily see being a movie star.  He once made People Magazine's list of the 50 Most Eligible Bachelors.  Well, either him or Martin St. Louis, because I hear most actors are shorter than you’d think.  And Martin St. Louis is not 5'9", as he's listed. 

4:19: Rick Nash has the best "Grizzly Adams" beard in the league.  And 18-year-old Jeff Skinner is quickly becoming the NHL’s version of Justin Bieber, which makes Eric Staal, at 26, an elder statesman already. 

4:25: In the last commercial break before the game, I also wanted to point out that the fantasy draft on Friday showed a different side of hockey players.  Sure, we all knew Ovechkin liked to have fun (and snap cell phone pictures of the last guy picked, Phil Kessel), but who knew the Staals, Sedins, Patrick Kane and Captain Serious himself, Toews were so funny?  Brilliant Shanahan, brilliant. 

4:30: Glen Wesley, sort of a journeyman, but a heart and soul guy for the team for a long time. 

4:32: Eric Staal has done a good job of keeping a smile on his face throughout the approximately 700 interviews he’s done with Versus and the NHL Network over the last seven days.  He’s a great ambassador for the game. 

4:35: Fleury making a breakaway save on the hometown hero Eric Staal?  Could he be shutting the door for good like he did after stopping Ovechkin early in Game 7 in the 2009 playoffs? 

4:35: Nope.  Ovechkin himself scored less than 30 seconds later.  So much for that theory…but I’m always happy to be wrong when he scores (especially on Fleury). 

4:36: Awesome save by Cam Ward on the breakaway.  He’s underrated here in Carolina. 

4:37: Another awesome breakaway save by Fleury on Sharp.  The goalies look good so far. 

4:37: And on that note, Paul Stasny from Sharp…beautiful cross-crease pass by Sharp on the two-on-one.  Sharp is underrated by the media, as shown by his surprisingly high selection in the fantasy draft.

4:38: Another goal by Team Staal…Elias from Stasny.  Three goals in less than four minutes.  Man, Fleury looked good last night, wish he got lit up like this more often during the regular season. 

4:40: For some reason goalies being mic’d up during games never seemed like a good idea to me.  Especially after Rick Dipietro got hurt in the ’08 game and required season-ending surgery…while mic’d up. 

4:41: Ovechkin with another nice dangle…where are these during the regular season?  Giroux with a goal on Fleury.  For guys like Ovechkin, Elias and Giroux, all rivals of Fleury’s Penguins, these goals must feel good, even if they’re during the All-Star Game. 

4:42: For such a slight guy, Jeff Skinner is really good with the puck down low.  And Cam Ward just said on the mic, “Skinner’s like Justin Bieber, all the guys have been saying it.” 

4:46: Just when I was thinking All-Star Game Ovechkin was looking way better than regular season Ovechkin, he coughs the puck up for Kopitar’s goal, ending Cam Ward’s 10-minute shutout. 

4:50: Watching Dustin Byfuglien on mic’d up has only confirmed his place as my favorite non-Capital to watch.  There’s never been a player that big with such great coordination and skill.  Chicago knew they had a great player, but he’s something special. 

4:52: Duncan Keith is the smoothest-skating defenseman in the league.  Great breakout pass to Kane (who has the silkiest hands in the West), and a slam-dunk one-timer by "big Buff."

4:54: I know it’s an All-Star Game, but I wish the Perry-Nash-Staal line would shoot the puck more.  They’re over-passing the puck, and though it’s pretty to watch, it’s too predictable. 

4:56: Cam Ward is playing a great period.  One of the better All-Star performances by a goalie in recent memory…and as I type this Loui Eriksson scores.  Scratch that theory too then—Doc Emerick jinxed him by bringing the shutout up to Ward. 

4:58: Duchene scores too—nice breakaway shot, top shelf.  A pretty exciting game so far, as Team Staal jumped out to a 4-0 lead, then coughed up the lead for a tie game. 

5:04: An eight-goal first period is just what the doctor ordered, especially when it’s a seesaw affair that ends in a tie.  So far, so good in Raleigh…now if only the NHL could get a major network to pick up the broadcasting rights for this event. 

5:15: Three Doors Down?  In Raleigh?  Only if the NHL is in charge.  Haven’t heard the song “Kryptonite” since high school though, they’ve still got it. 

5:25: I know that Versus has to do the whole "interview way too many players" thing, but you can’t ask players how they’re mentally preparing for an All-Star Game.  It’s like asking your kid how he’s preparing for a pick-up basketball or two-hand touch football game. 

5:26: Again, loving the mic’d up clips of Byfluglien.  Who else would be giving the league’s leading goal-scorer, Steven Stamkos, crap about missing a one-timer? 

5:29: I hate to say it but Jonas Hiller’s style on the ice isn’t any better.  That black mask is meant to distract shooters, but it just looks bad.  A great ‘tender like Hiller deserves a better bucket. 

5:31: For anyone else confused: Daniel Sedin is the twin with more facial hair, that’s how I tell them apart. 

5:33: Wow, that’s why they refer to Patrick Sharp as "sharpshooter."  What a one-timer off a great pass on the two-on-one from Giroux.  I bet the Flyers are still upset about losing Sharp. 

5:35: No one’s popularity is going to skyrocket more from this weekend than Jeff Skinner.  The commentators can’t go more than five minutes without talking about "No. 53 in white, the 18-year-old kid.”  He enjoys virtual rock star status in Carolina, but you can bet the prom invitations from teenage girls he gets will just increase from here. 

5:37: Carey Price shutting the door on St. Louis and Stamkos.  That Huet trade hasn’t looked so dumb after all. 

5:39: A rifle from Kris Letang off a nice passing play from Ovechkin and Sedin.  6-4 Team Staal.  Letang looks like a fourth forward every time he’s on the ice, and he’s got prototypical French Canadian hockey player hair.  Think Guy Lafleur but darker, and underneath a helmet. 

5:42: When Zdeno Chara gets open shots from the slot, I would be willing to take the odds that some goalies close their eyes.  It’s a good thing he ripped that last one over Hiller’s head. 

5:46: Easily the easiest goal of the night.  Anze Kopitar with Eriksson on a two-on-none, leaving Carey Price with nothing to do but watch Kopitar snap a one-timer behind him from the top of the crease.  The close game continues, but in terms of actual intensity from the players, this game looks just like any other All-Star Game. 

5:48: Rob Blake is one of the most underrated shutdown defensemen of all time—good to see him in the crowd. 

5:50: Another odd-man rush that featured way too many passes, and again from the Staal line.  I hope one of them works out, 'cause it’s been pretty futile so far. 

5:52: Ovechkin misses another odd-man rush (which Versus has counted at 15 thus far), and jumps into the glass.  It was a creative shift from the Capitals captain, and teammate Mike Green got into the mix with a nice toe drag beside the net. 

5:53: And after long last, Stamkos from St. Louis.  It was bound to happen, and just like that Team Lidstrom has tied it at six. 

5:54: As I listen to Ryan Kesler being interviewed on mic’d up I keep thinking to myself, why doesn’t USA Hockey market this guy more?  Came up through the United States development program, basically the poster boy for young American players. 

5:55: Team Lidstrom takes the lead on a goal from Briere, who honestly looks almost as young as Jeff Skinner.  Briere could be the Aaron Carter to Jeff Skinner’s Justin Bieber. 

5:57: Nash robbed by Hiller on a breakaway.  He and Price are leaving big shoes to fill for the goalies in the third period. 

5:58: In a game like this, I am a fan of the goalies being encouraged to play the puck after a save.  It does give the game more of a "pond hockey" feel to it, and there are less TV timeouts. 

5:58: In another mic’d up segment, Kesler talks about how much fun the players had with the fantasy draft.  The NHL needs to bring that back next year, it’s great for the fans, players and basically everyone besides Phil Kessel (though he got a car). 

6:00: 7-6 Team Lidstrom at the end of two periods.  It’s actually been an exciting contest for an All-Star Game. 

6:07: I’m just not sure what to make of the Guardian Project.  I just don’t see what a comic book creator and the NHL have to do with each other, nor do I see how a comic book series could be created based upon 30 superheroes based upon NHL mascots. 

6:09: So to recap, there is a villain trying to kill the NHL Guardians, and was going to attack the RBC Center, until the Carolina Hurricanes Guardian saved the day.  Definitely not the brainchild of Brendan Shanahan. 

6:11: Every time the new Verizon commercial featuring Ovechkin scoring an "Ovechtrick," which is nine goals, I can’t help but think that until he had a hat trick last weekend (after the commercial had premiered), those nine goals would have been more than half of his total for the season.  Time to step it up for the second half of the season, Alex. 

6:14: While it's great to see Michelle Obama in a commercial featuring clips of youth hockey players, I find it ironic, seeing as Barack turned down Capitals owner Ted Leonsis' repeated offers to watch the Caps play.  Obama has referenced Ovechkin in speeches, has attended multiple Wizards games and welcomed the Penguins to the White House, but he can’t see the best team in town play live once?  Time to step it up for the second half of the season, Mr. President. 

6:16: One reason the NHL misses Jeremy Roenick: he threw the last hit in an All-Star Game in recent memory. 

6:25: Anze Kopitar is surprisingly well spoken for a Slovenian. He could be a big star if the Kings marketed him.  He’s arguably among the top 10 players in the game, in L.A.  Even collegiate athletes in that city get more press than Kopitar, who could well win the MVP for today’s game. 

6:32: If Jeff Skinner doesn’t score, there will be thousands of teenage girls in the Raleigh-Durham area in mourning after the game. 

6:34: Even though I tend to dislike Boston sports teams, it’s hard not to like Tim Thomas, and appreciate the uphill climb he’s had throughout his career.  He went from being a Vezina Trophy winner to a backup last year, back to being the league’s best netminder this year. 

6:35: Obviously Eric Staal was going to score.  You could feel it coming as soon as he skated in on the breakaway.

6:36: Ryan Kesler told the commentators that he got hit by Henrik Sedin in the second.  I find it hard to believe, but Kesler’s not a soft player, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. 

6:37: Doc Emerick just dubbed Ovechkin "the showman of the day."  This is a perfectly acceptable thing to say, except I can’t remember a time when Ovechkin wasn’t the showman of the day.  As I was typing that, Ovechkin threw his stick at Matt Duchene on a breakaway, so Duchene gets a penalty shot.  (It didn’t matter—Lundvquist stopped him anyway.) 

6:38: Ovechkin’s thrown stick resulted in the first penalty shot in All-Star Game history.  Go figure. 

6:41: I love the line of Brad Richards, St. Louis and Stamkos.  It represents what could have been if Lightning GM Jay Feaster had chosen to keep Richards over Vincent Lecavalier in 2006-07.  Lecavalier, though he was a superstar early on, has become one of the most overpaid players in the game, while Richards is on his way to posting back-to-back 90-point seasons. 

6:43: Kris Letang scores again, making it 8-7 Team Staal.  He’s making a push for MVP with two goals as a defenseman.  Unless of course, someone gets the trademark All-Star Game hat trick. 

6:45: Danny Briere tying things up at eight.  We have another MVP candidate right here, though the ‘Canes fans wish it was the other baby-faced forward playing in the game. 

6:47: Mike Green goes down and makes a beautiful move, but turns the puck over and Toews cashes in for Team Lidstrom.  We haven’t seen that happen nearly as often this season with Green, and it's better that it happens during an All-Star Game.

6:51: Off topic, but how did John Carlson not make the Youngstars game?  Four defensemen made the team, but only one has more points than Washington’s Carlson.  He’s been the best defenseman on Washington besides Green, and the NHL would be smart to market the player who won the 2010 World Juniors for Team USA in overtime. 

6:53: Sleeper pick for MVP could be Shea Weber with four assists.  Let’s see if he cracks a smile if he wins the award. 

6:54: Martin St. Louis puts a nifty backhander over Lundvquist to make it 10-8.  How did he not make Team Canada last year again?

6:56: And just like that, the passing plays of the Staal, Nash and Perry line work out.  Perry turns a broken play into a partial breakaway for Nash, and Nash deftly flipped it over Thomas. 

6:57: Chara with another point-blank opportunity from the slot, and he put it wide.  You have to wonder whether the opposing goalies asked him to aim for the boards and glass before the game. 

6:58: Ovechkin with another gift of a turn over, this time putting Patrick Kane on a breakaway.  Hope he gets all of those out of his system before the Caps resume play this week. 

7:03: After an empty-netter to put Team Lidstrom up by two, Eric Staal wires another one past Thomas low to bring his team within one.  Two goals by the hometown boy?  Could be enough for the MVP. 

7:04: Game over, with the empty-net goal by Eriksson being the winner.  With four points, and easily the least climatic winning goal I’ve seen, Eriksson could be the MVP. 

7:07: Interesting MVP choice, as Patrick Sharp didn’t post a multiple-goal game like many others did, or win the game, but he did have a number of memorable offensive plays. 

7:10: This has been the most compelling NHL All-Star Game I’ve seen, with possibly the exception of the 2009 game in Montreal, strictly because of the ‘Habs legends that were on hand for the centennial celebration.  This year’s edition of the game put more power in the hands of the players, and it turned out great.  Kudos to the NHL, but the one suggestion I need to make is to get this game broadcast to a wider audience.  It would allow fans to see the league’s best players in a different light, which can only benefit