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It was fitting that one of the best NHL All-Star Weekends in years ended with a record-breaking performance.
Team Toews gained a huge early lead and ran away with it, winning the 2015 NHL All-Star game, 17-12, over Team Foligno. The 29 combined goals is the most in NHL All-Star Game history.
As expected, Toews' loaded forward group led the way. Both John Tavares and Jakub Voracek scored hat tricks for their team while Filip Forsberg, Tyler Seguin and Rick Nash added two goals each to the effort. Nash, a former Blue Jacket, was booed heavily by the Columbus crowd each time he touched the puck.
Team Foligno mounted a late comeback thanks to Patrick Kane, Ryan Johansen and Steven Stamkos but ultimately fell short.
At the end of the night, only Phil Kessel, Anze Kopitar and Zemgus Girgensons didn't register a single point.
Three things we learned
1. All-Star Weekend was a massive success. From the very beginning, you knew this would be a special weekend. The festivities brought out the best entertainment you could possibly hope for as a fan. It was so refreshing to see the players relax and let their awesome senses of humor shine, and each event delivered wonderful moments. This was a triumph in fan service and we hope the NHL doesn't change a thing.
2. You can have the best game of your life and you still might not win the All-Star MVP. John Tavares scored four goals, Jakub Voracek scored three and Jonathan Toews ended up with five points. And yet the hometown hero Ryan Johansen walked away with the MVP fan vote. Ah well.
3. Roberto Luongo cemented his status as a fan favorite.
Luongo was already known as a hockey funnyman before the All-Star Game and he turned up in a big way this weekend. Whether throwing Kevin Shattenkirk's special puck into the stands or making #DeflateGate jokes on Twitter, Luongo seemed to understand how big a role he could play in entertaining through social media. Kudos, Lu.
I wanna be on the kiss cam @BlueJacketsNHL make it happen!
— Strombone (@strombone1) January 26, 2015
Impact Moment
It had to be Alex Ovechkin starting a fake scrum in the middle of the All-Star game. Poor guy just wanted a car!
Stat of the Night
Fleury ties record for most goals given up in one ASG period with 7, per @Sean_Leahy. #NHLAllStar
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) January 25, 2015