SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk was right at home at the NHL All-Star Game.
Once again.
Detroit’s Dylan Larkin had a hat-trick, Toronto’s Mitch Marner had three assists and the Atlantic Division beat the Central Division 7-5 in Saturday’s All-Star Game final.
All-Star Game MVP Matthew Tkachuk – who plays alongside his brother Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators – had seven points on the day after hitting a five-point breakout in the semifinals against the Metropolitan Division. Larkin had five goals in the Atlantic’s two games.
“We wanted to get a win for the home crowd and the fans,” said Montreal’s Nick Suzuki. “They did a good job cheering on the Atlantic Division. We just wanted to give them a good show.”
And for the MVP, winning in front of Panthers fans meant more than just winning.
“It’s been an honor to play ahead of them all year and it’s great for the other players in the league to see what a great place this is,” said Matthew Tkachuk. “I’m as happy as I can be here.”
Arizona’s Clayton Keller, Dallas’ Jason Robertson, Colorado teammates, Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen all scored for the Central in the Finals. Makar also had two assists.
It was the Atlantic’s first win of the All-Star Game after six previous attempts in division format. The 11 players — nine skaters and two goalies — on Atlantic’s roster shared $1 million for the win.
“It was so much fun,” said Larkin, who scored five goals in the two games. “I’m proud of how we won it. What a great group of guys… it was just a great weekend.”
Matthew Tkachuk has now been on the winning team for his two All-Star appearances, both times enjoying the comforts of home. He helped the Pacific win the 2020 All-Star title in St. Louis, his hometown and one of the many courses his father — Keith Tkachuk, who was in the crowd on Saturday — played during his career.
“I’ve been very fortunate the two that I’ve been in that I know the ins and outs of everything that goes on outside of the rink,” said Matthew Tkachuk. “It just made it so much more comfortable and special for me.”
And this one really had home field advantage. Matthew Tkachuk – the former Calgary standout who chose Florida last offseason despite much speculation he would go to St. Louis – had three goals and two assists in the Atlantic’s 10-6 win over the Metropolitan in the second semifinal.
After the first half of the 20-minute final, Atlantic was 3-0; All matches in this all-star format are 3v3, 20 minutes long with a short break after 10 minutes. The lead increased to 4-0 early in the second half of the final, giving the Atlantic 10 goals in a row; It trailed 6-4 in the semifinals before ending on a 6-0 run.
Larkin scored 1:06 to make it 6-2, the first of five goals in a frantic finish.
“It was a great time,” said Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who scored for the Atlantic to make it 7-3 with 36 seconds remaining. “I’ve met a lot of great people.”
NOTES: The NHL is right back on track Monday with six games including a home game for Florida – meaning there will be a quick turnaround for the arena. … The Central Division is now the only one to have won an All-Star Game in this format. The Pacific has three wins, the Metropolitan has three wins, and now the Atlantic has one. … Florida was supposed to host that 2021 game, only to have it canceled by the pandemic. The Panthers hosted an All-Star weekend in 2023. … The number of visitors was sold out, 19,250.
SEMIFINAL 1: CENTRAL 6, PACIFIC 4
Keller had two goals and an assist, MacKinnon had two goals, and the Central advanced to the title matchup. St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko had one goal and three assists for the Central. Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson scored twice while San Jose’s Erik Karlsson and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid also scored for the Pacific.
SEMIFINALS 2: ATLANTIC 10, METROPOLITAN 6
The teams combined to score a record – at least in the 3v3 era – 16 goals. Matthew Tkachuk had three goals and two assists, setting a single-game record for the format. Larkin scored twice and Brady Tkachuk had a goal and three assists for the Atlantic. Columbus’ Johnny Gaudreau had three goals for the Metropolitan. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby had two goals and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin had the other.
NEXT
The next NHL All-Star Weekend is February 2-3, 2024 in Toronto.
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