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2011 NHL All-Star Game: Team Lidstrom beats Team Staal 11-10; Patrick Sharp named MVP

58th NHL All-Star Game Portraits

poses for a portrait before the 58th NHL All-Star Game at RBC Center on January 30, 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Harry How

Coming back from a 4-0 deficit is rare in a normal NHL game. Yet in a wide-open event like the 2011 NHL All-Star Game, it’s almost expected.

Team Lidstrom looked like they were on their way to a lopsided defeat when they fell behind 4-0 early in the first period of the contest, but they managed to tie it up in the first frame. The game tightened up a bit in the second period as Team Lidstrom took a 7-6 lead thanks in some part to solid goaltending.

The third period ended with a frenzy of activity. Rick Nash scored a breakaway goal to cut down Team Lidstrom’s lead to 10-9, only to see Loui Eriksson score an empty netter for his fourth point of the game to build the lead back to two. Eric Staal made sure his team kept at it, scoring his crowd-pleasing second goal to cut the lead back down to one. Team Lidstrom ultimately held off Staal’s group to squeak by 11-10, though.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the game came when Alex Ovechkin slid his stick down the ice to try to thwart a Matt Duchene breakway (and maybe give the crowd a treat), thus giving Duchene the first penalty shot in the history of NHL all-star games. Henrik Lundqvist ultimately bailed Ovi out by shutting down Duchene’s breakaway attempt.

Patrick Sharp earned the MVP (and a car) with a one-goal, two assist performance for Team Lidstrom. This is the third time Tim Thomas managed to earn a win in an All-Star Game, according to Versus. Nick Lidstrom and Shea Weber combined for a whopping +14 plus/minus in the game.

Stay tuned for more ASG-related fun later on tonight and tomorrow.