Sharks’ AllStar Game experience ends with ‘terrible outcome’

SAN JOSE — As Brent Burns attempted to put a positive spin on the Sharks home All Star Game at SAP Center, he was interrupted by teammate Erik Karlsson.

“The crowd was awesome. Good energy,” Burns said.

“Terrible outcome,” Karlsson interjected.

Walt Whitman couldn’t have picked better words to describe the Sharks’ experience in Saturday’s three-on-three tournament at the Tank. Instead of witnessing an enduring moment like Owen Nolan’s called shot in the 1997 NHL All Star game in San Jose, Sharks fans in attendance were forced to watch Burns, Karlsson and Joe Pavelski get run out of their own barn as the Pacific Division came out on the wrong side of a 10-4 shellacking by the Central Division.

Still, the All Star Game is all about fun, not competition, and the Sharks representatives enjoyed the opportunity to experience it together on home ice. They skated out in unison after the loss to salute the crowd and Burns brought his infant daughter, Olivia, onto the ice with him.

“Obviously, it didn’t go as well as we planned,” Karlsson said. “But to share it with these two guys is something that’s always going to be special.”

The Metropolitan Division won the tournament with a 105 win over the Central Division. Sidney Crosby earned MVP honors, scoring four goals and racking up eight points in two games.

If anyone shined for the Pacific Division on Saturday, it was Karlsson, who scored two of the Pacific Division’s goals.

Karlsson isn’t spitting out clichés when he speaks about how special it is to participate in a home All Star Game. Keep in mind, Karlsson received every opportunity to skip this weekend’s festivities and enjoy a week-long vacation on a sunny beach somewhere as the Sharks won’t return to action until Feb. 2. Karlsson skipped the last three games before the All Star break with a lowerbody injury, but he wanted to experience the excitement of participating in the event at home.

The two-time Norris Trophy winner made the decision to play after talking it through with the Sharks braintrust.

“We discussed it, but being here in San Jose, it’s important when you get an opportunity to participate, it felt like something I wanted to do,” Karlsson said. “I know how much it means for this organization,

the fan base and this community.”

Karlsson played without testing his injury by going full out. He skated leisurely throughout the game’s two 10-minute halves. Even when he got the Pacific Division on the board at 4:51 of the first by scoring a breakaway goal off Pekka Rinne, Karlsson kept his jets turned off as Leon Draisaitl tied up the defender trailing him.

He scored his second goal at 5:52 of the second, passing the puck through the slot to Pavelski and then burying the return feed. Brent Burns scored off a blast from the top of the left circle just 10 seconds later, giving the home crowd a brief moment of jubilation.

“It’s been a while since I’ve scored so I was happy about that,” said Karlsson, who hasn’t scored a goal with the Sharks since Dec. 29.