To me, the all-star game itself, while mildly enjoyable, is the lower point of the weekend. I much prefer the skills competition held the previous day. (I'm also glad the NHL put the whole shebang back on a weekend, the way it was supposed to be: having it on a Wednesday night makes it seem even less important than it already is.) Not only do I enjoy watching the players testing their skills, they are so clearly having fun, it makes it more fun to watch.
Some of the players are miked, so the announcers can talk to them during the events, and the funniest guy this year was certainly Rick DiPietro. The Islanders goalie should definitely consider becoming an announcer after his playing days are done.
Chara had the hardest shot for the second consecutive year, and that event? Makes me doubt the sanity of goalies even more. Over 100 mile-per-hour shots, and you're going to stand in front of them? Ohhh-kay. Chara also had an assist during the game on Sunday, and Marc Savard scored the game-winning goal for the East in the final minute, giving Tim Thomas (who made some amazing saves) the victory (kind of; three goalies play for each side, but Thomas played the third period, so he was in net at the end). Plus, our wild child, Milan Lucic, scored in the Young Stars game on Saturday, so overall Boston was very well-represented.
My favorite moment from the game was when Ilya Kovalchuk made a great play on Evgeni Nabokov, and when Nabokov made the great save, fell backward dramatically on the ice as if he couldn't believe it (it's at the beginning of this video, and by the way, what did we do before YouTube?).
One thing I didn't like? Those uniforms.
With the stars down the side? To me, they looked like little-boy pajamas. Another reason to like the skills stuff, when the players wear their team uniforms, not the all-star uniforms. Gack.
Well, off to watch the Bruins/Red Wings game. They're leading the league, but hey, we beat the Eastern Conference leaders Thursday, who knows?
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