No Sid the Kid? Still mired in the quasi-station television purgatory that is the VERSUS network?
Just the same, even though the game resulted in this writer being up past his bedtime, the NHL All-Star game lit the lamp on some levels Sunday.
With a few members of the old Milwaukee crew being fanatical fans of the coolest game around, the weekend's gala gave me an excuse to enjoy some camaraderie, as well as some of the finest food and drinks native of north of the border.
While Saturday's Dodge SuperSkills Competition left my hockey-loving belly grumbling for more substance, Sunday was a big fat piece of Canadian apple cobbler.
Alright hockey purists, there may not have been ANY hitting. Or icing. Quite frankly, there weren't any infractions enforced.
But one thing that was enforced was a policy in punishment for the index finger of the guy operating the scoreboard. Aside from a middle period dominated by the goaltenders, a hat trick by one of the league's young stars in Rick Nash and a last-minute top-shelf special by Marc Savard highlighted a 15-goal frenzy that made onlookers forget that the league's stars were skating at about half the clip they're capable of.
As if making amends for an otherwise lackluster weekend, even hometown hero, Atlanta star Ilya Kovalchuk, broke through with a pinpoint helper on a 2-on-1 that set up Eric Staal for his second goal and all but gave him the keys to a brand new truck that comes with being named the game's MVP. The goal tied the score midway through the third before Savard prevented the only thing that could've made the weekend even better - overtime and (gasp, perhaps?) even a shootout.
The only thing that was missing during the Sunday evening scoring barrage was a goal by Kovalchuk, whose disappointing personal weekend began in his lackluster showing Saturday night.
Where Sunday provided well-punctuated electrifying moments, the night before was a plodding death march at times, only becoming eye-popping in the final event.
And Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, the youngest defending Most Valuable Player in the history of the sport, was most significantly missed Saturday night.
The league's most innovative brainchild in some time, the Breakaway competition is an event tailor-made for the Penguins' fresh-faced captain.
Essentially hockey's answer to the NBA's Slam Dunk Competition (clearly evidenced by "The Human Highlight Reel", Dominique Wilkins' presence on the judging panel), the final event promised an equipment bag-full of tricks.
Instead, it came out awfully reminiscent of the rest of league commissioner, Gary Bettman's recent attempts to manufacture appeal. Intentions were good. Execution, not so much.
Aside from Alexander Ovechkin's nearly-fantastic Tiger Woods impersonation and a few nifty improvisations by the Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf, the event was riddled with half-baked creations that came out tasting like botched breakaway pie.
Crosby will be out a couple more weeks with an ankle sprain. Had he been present, his incomparable sleight of stick would have taken the Skills to another level.
Despite, Sunday's contest that sandwiched two ping pong periods around an exhibition in shot-stopping and show-stopping between the posts left me feeling strangely optimistic for the game.
One can't help but be encouraged with the success the NHL enjoyed without the services of "The Kid" that's more important to his sport than any other up-and-comer.
- Christopher Heimerman is the sports editor at The Monroe Times. He can be reached at sportseditor@themonroetimes.com
Just the same, even though the game resulted in this writer being up past his bedtime, the NHL All-Star game lit the lamp on some levels Sunday.
With a few members of the old Milwaukee crew being fanatical fans of the coolest game around, the weekend's gala gave me an excuse to enjoy some camaraderie, as well as some of the finest food and drinks native of north of the border.
While Saturday's Dodge SuperSkills Competition left my hockey-loving belly grumbling for more substance, Sunday was a big fat piece of Canadian apple cobbler.
Alright hockey purists, there may not have been ANY hitting. Or icing. Quite frankly, there weren't any infractions enforced.
But one thing that was enforced was a policy in punishment for the index finger of the guy operating the scoreboard. Aside from a middle period dominated by the goaltenders, a hat trick by one of the league's young stars in Rick Nash and a last-minute top-shelf special by Marc Savard highlighted a 15-goal frenzy that made onlookers forget that the league's stars were skating at about half the clip they're capable of.
As if making amends for an otherwise lackluster weekend, even hometown hero, Atlanta star Ilya Kovalchuk, broke through with a pinpoint helper on a 2-on-1 that set up Eric Staal for his second goal and all but gave him the keys to a brand new truck that comes with being named the game's MVP. The goal tied the score midway through the third before Savard prevented the only thing that could've made the weekend even better - overtime and (gasp, perhaps?) even a shootout.
The only thing that was missing during the Sunday evening scoring barrage was a goal by Kovalchuk, whose disappointing personal weekend began in his lackluster showing Saturday night.
Where Sunday provided well-punctuated electrifying moments, the night before was a plodding death march at times, only becoming eye-popping in the final event.
And Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, the youngest defending Most Valuable Player in the history of the sport, was most significantly missed Saturday night.
The league's most innovative brainchild in some time, the Breakaway competition is an event tailor-made for the Penguins' fresh-faced captain.
Essentially hockey's answer to the NBA's Slam Dunk Competition (clearly evidenced by "The Human Highlight Reel", Dominique Wilkins' presence on the judging panel), the final event promised an equipment bag-full of tricks.
Instead, it came out awfully reminiscent of the rest of league commissioner, Gary Bettman's recent attempts to manufacture appeal. Intentions were good. Execution, not so much.
Aside from Alexander Ovechkin's nearly-fantastic Tiger Woods impersonation and a few nifty improvisations by the Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf, the event was riddled with half-baked creations that came out tasting like botched breakaway pie.
Crosby will be out a couple more weeks with an ankle sprain. Had he been present, his incomparable sleight of stick would have taken the Skills to another level.
Despite, Sunday's contest that sandwiched two ping pong periods around an exhibition in shot-stopping and show-stopping between the posts left me feeling strangely optimistic for the game.
One can't help but be encouraged with the success the NHL enjoyed without the services of "The Kid" that's more important to his sport than any other up-and-comer.
- Christopher Heimerman is the sports editor at The Monroe Times. He can be reached at sportseditor@themonroetimes.com
