The Metropolitan Division won’t win the 2020 NHL All-Star Game after winning the 2019 edition. The Atlantic Division dispatched the Metro 9-5 in the first round. The Atlantic awaits the winner of the Central vs. Pacific Divisions.
As you’d expect, the game had a lot of goals, plenty of laughs and smiles, with very little defense.
Shea Weber did throw a rare check, though.
WATCH OUT!
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) January 26, 2020
Shea Weber is out here throwing the body around. 😂@CanadiensMTL | #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/rEY3eNBWOa
The gap between the two teams was exaggerated, though. David Pastrnak and Anthony Duclair both generated a hat trick and assist apiece, although their third goals were both empty-netters. Tyler Bertuzzi (four assists) and Victor Hedman (1G, 3A) were the Atlantic’s other four-point players.
Seth Jones (1G, 3A) ranked as the Metro’s only four-point producer.
Three Metro players (Chris Kreider, Kris Letang, and Jaccob Slavin) and one Atlantic (Mitch Marner) finished that round without a point.
T.J. Oshie got a big cheer for his nice goal:
OSH is BACK in St. Louis and doing what he does best! 🚨@Capitals | #NHLAllStar
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) January 26, 2020
📺: NBC
💻: https://t.co/JptxthSLGr pic.twitter.com/pMUIUSb4zr
Andrei Vasilevskiy enjoyed the best performance of the four goalies, stopping six out of seven shots. The Atlantic carried a 22-16 SOG advantage overall.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.