Over the weekend, the NHL stars played all-star hockey in Florida, where the four different divisions settled for victory. Atlantic, with Aleksander Barkov, took home the final against Central with the numbers 7–5.
It was 2 x 10 minutes and games with three players against three that applied in the three games.
Finland was represented by three players: Mikko Rantanen (Colorado) and Juuse Saros (Nashville) in Central’s team and Aleksander Barkov (Florida) in Atlantic. The entire Finnish trio made it to the final match.
Central, featuring Saros and Rantanen, defeated Pacific 6–4 in the first semifinal game.
The second semi offered some drama as Barkov’s Atlantic staged a late and impressive turnaround against Metropolitan. With seven minutes to play, Atlantic was down 4–6, but eventually won 10–6.
The match was played in Florida and Aleksander Barkov in Atlantic therefore had the support of the home crowd.
Photo: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports/All Over Press
Aleksander Barkov, Jr., National Hockey League All-Star Game, ice hockey
In the Atlantic–Central final, Atlantic took a 4–0 lead at the halfway mark. At the end, there was a big finish party. In just over a minute, 5–1 turned into 7–5 and six goals were scored in 65 seconds.
Atlantic thus took home the victory with 7–5 and in the winning team Barkov’s final balance was 0+1. Rantanen on the losing side was noted for 1+1.
Matthew Tkachuk, who is Barkov’s Florida teammate, was awarded the event’s Most Valuable Player. The Canadian was noted for a total of 4+3 in Saturday’s two games. The eleven players on the winning team get to share one million dollars.
The NHL announced that the all-star game in a year will be played in Toronto.
Results
Semifinals: Central–Pacific 6–4
CEN: Mikko Rantanen 0+2, +1, 5.46
CEN: Juuse Saros 11/13 saves
Semifinal: Atlantic–Metropolitan 10–6
ATL: Aleksander Barkov 0+3, +3, 5.58
Final: Atlantic–Central 7–5
ATL: Aleksander Barkov 0+1, +/- 0, 6.10
CEN: Mikko Rantanen 1+1, -1, 7.49
CEN: Juuse Saros 11/14 saves
