To the delight of the fans: Shesterkin won the NHL All-Star Game for the first time, Kucherov came out on top in the sniper race

Even though the NHL All-Star Game was created primarily to entertain the public and provide them with the opportunity to watch all the strongest hockey players in the league in one event, the sports component should not be ignored either. Although in general the meetings take place in a fairly calm and relaxed atmosphere, some of the players probably want to either stand out from the rest or prove something to the same fans. And this time it clearly applied to Nikita Kucherov. The regular season's top scorer was heavily criticized for his performance in the skill competition and was rudely booed by the crowd at the Toronto arena. And although the Russian pretended that this did not hurt him in any way, he probably harbored a grudge.

And he had an amazing chance to take revenge on the fans. After all, in the semi-finals of the tournament, Kucherov and his partners were opposed by a team whose captain was the local favorite Auston Matthews, and he was accompanied by other Maple Leafs hockey players - Mitchell Marner and William Nylander. Last year, Toronto's leading scorer was unable to take part in the weekend due to injury and this time he was more motivated than ever. But this did not save his team from missing a goal in the debut.

After all, already at the 79th second Kucherov earned another portion of whistles addressed to him. The Tampa Bay forward, criticized for his imposing attitude, robbed Marner in his own zone, broke through to the opponent’s goal and easily dealt with his compatriot Igor Shesterkin. And thanks to this, he rose to first place in the sniper race of the All-Star Game in the three-on-three format. He now has eight goals, the same number as Sidney Crosby and Johnny Gaudreau.

And Kucherov did not stop there, subsequently becoming not only one of the most productive, but also useful representatives of Hughes’ team. In total, he scored two (1 + 1) points and finished the meeting with a score of “+2” - only Frank Vatrano from Anaheim (+3) had a higher score. By the way, it was he who helped develop the attack started by the Russian and gave Elias Petterson the opportunity to score. The Ducks forward handled the Russian's brilliant backhand pass and directed the puck to the Swede. All he had to do was not miss from a couple of meters.

As a result, it was this trio of athletes who finished the meeting in the black. The rest did not look so good, which is why it was necessary to determine the holder of a ticket to the final in a shootout. And there the Vezina Trophy winner from Russia demonstrated his skills. Shesterkin one by one covered Kyle Connor, Petterson, Kucherov and JT Miller, becoming one of the main creators of the team’s success. The author of the only accurate shot was not Matthews or Nylander, but Alex Debrincat, who scored “2 + 1” in regulation time.

By this time, the second contender for victory in the mini-tournament had already decided. Kucherov's main competitor in the fight for the Art Ross Trophy, Nathan MacKinnon, desperately resisted and even scored a double, but could not save his squad from a disappointing defeat. Like the Russian, the Canadian shone during regulation time, but at the end of it he was unable to outwit Sergei Bobrovsky. The Florida goalkeeper replaced Connor Hellebuyck in goal and not only made eight saves, but also won two head-to-head duels in the shootout - Crosby became his second “victim”. At the same time, both Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak took advantage of their chances, scoring goals during the 20-minute period.

Thus, in the final, fans were treated to not only a battle between one of the league’s main stars in the persons of Matthews and McDavid, but also a confrontation between two Russian goalkeepers - Shestyorkin and Bobrovsky. And although it was not possible to identify the strongest in him, the veteran looked a little more impressive. The Florida goalkeeper stopped three more shots (10 out of 13) and did not allow the American team to secure a comfortable lead in the first period. It ended with a score of 3:3, thanks to which the intrigue remained. And some of Sergei’s rescues looked simply incredible. Consider the episode with Rasmus Dahlin going one-on-one or Marner’s one-touch shot in the last seconds. The Canadian was so upset that he even threw his leggings towards his counterpart.

In the second half, the Russians went to the bench, and Matthews and the company “switched into maximum gear” and resolved all the issues almost two minutes before the end of the meeting. By this time, they had scored three unanswered goals and were no longer allowed to get close (7:4). Auston himself scored three points and was named the Most Valuable Player of the finals, although his comrades DeBrincat, Clayton Keller and Mathew Barzal could boast of the same productivity. For comparison, only Leon Draisaitl was as productive among his opponents. Nick Suzuki and the same Pastrnak, who caught up with Kucherov and company in the race of the best snipers of the competition, have one point less.

At the same time, Shesterkin not only became the winner of the NHL All-Star Game for the first time in his career, but managed to take a photo with the famous singer Justin Bieber and extended the successful streak for domestic goalies. A year ago, Andrei Vasilevsky led his team to success. In terms of the total number of titles, they and Bobrovsky share second place. Twice this championship was won only by former Washington goalkeeper Braden Holtby.