Another nice effort?
Format not only key to All-Star Game fix
The NHL All-Star Game, as we came to loath it over the course of many years, wasn’t just a total waste of time and a rip-off for the suckers who bought repulsively overpriced tickets, it probably hurt the league — showcasing all the worst elements of hockey and few of the good ones.
In a sport that treasures hard work, team play, toughness and discipline, these games would have had a casual observer convinced that hockey is really played by a bunch of selfish, lazy, showoffs.
Way to go, NHL. Way to really market your sport well.
That’s how bad it had gotten — to the point where the only sensible step was to stop playing these “games” entirely.
But then, lo and behold, there occurred a miracle. Last year’s All-Star Game in Nashville was actually fun and entertaining and nearly worth the price of admission. That was largely because Music City is the most fun town to visit in America, and the folks there did a terrific job making All-Star weekend delightful.
But the game itself was also surprisingly entertaining, as the NHL had the guys playing a 3-on-3 format, 20-minute games among four teams representing the league’s four divisions.
Unlike the old games, which bore zero resemblance to genuine NHL contests — with a 17-12 score the previous year in Columbus — the new approach was a reasonable facsimile of the 3-on-3 play that has made NHL overtime the most entertaining five minutes of the night.
The two first-round games were fairly competitive — with scores of 4-3 and 9-6 — but the final game was terrific, as the Pacific Division beat the Atlantic, 1-0. It was genuinely competitive and intense, with great goaltending at both ends. Anaheim’s Corey Perry scored the only goal, 13:38 into the 20-minute game.
“I thought it was good,” goalie Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils said after the game. “It was probably a little more competitive than in past years. I think if anything, (the format) fits well — because in years past the complaint was that there was no hitting and no physicality.
“But in 3-on-3, even in the regular season, there’s no hitting. It’s more skill and wide-open (play), so it felt like we were playing the same game we do in the regular season, which is what they wanted.”
Players gave a decent effort and tried to play a little defense — and there were still plenty of clean breakaways, 2-on-1’s and great passes.
All and all, it was improvement over the “hockey” that’s been played in All-Star Games of many years past — especially in the title game.
The 3-on-3 format, of course, is back for this year’s game, at Los Angeles’ Staples Center next Sunday. No doubt La-La Land will be a good host city — even if we’ll take the country music honky-tonks of Nashville over rubbing elbows with the narcissistic political experts of Hollywood. And maybe the games will be entertaining, as well.
But there are two strikes already against that happening: No John Scott; no Patrice Bergeron. Those two guys, more than anyone, made last year’s event a success.
Minor leaguer Scott, known only as a goon and maybe the last guy who belonged in the game, based on pure skill, was elected in a controversial online voting campaign. He then displayed some skill in leading the Pacific Division past the Central, 9-6, in the first round.
Capping off his incredible rags-to-riches story, Scott was named the All-Star MVP.
The NHL, of course, changed the voting rules to prevent another Scottlike campaign, making guys who’ve spent time in the minors this season (unless it was for conditioning) ineligible for the game.
Bergeron, meantime, hasn’t had an All-Star level season. He’ll be missed, after he eschewed customary All-Star protocols last season — and actually back-checked and worked hard defensively.
“A few guys on the Metropolitan team were telling me I wasn’t allowed to back-check, that it was an unwritten rule in the All-Star Game,” Bergeron said with a laugh. “I didn’t know about that.”
Let’s hope the example he set a year ago isn’t forgotten. Because if we go right back to the same old no-effort crap — say, 12-11 outcomes — the good feeling about the All-Star Game will vanish in a hurry.