Getting to start the game with Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault, I liked that. It was fun for the fans and fun for us. Not a great start, though! We got scored on the first shot (by Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson 13 seconds into the game). But getting the time to play together was fun.
It was a great game. I thought we tied it up [on a goal by Marchessault at the buzzer that was overturned], and I started to celebrate, but then I was like, "Nope, we're down by two." It would have been nice to get it to overtime or something, but it's all right.
I think the event staff did a great job all weekend, thinking everything through. I think the players enjoy it and they make it as relaxing as possible for us. We just follow where we're supposed to go, and for us, we can just sit back and enjoy it.
All-Star Weekend was great, but it was even better that it was in Las Vegas. I'll tell you what, all the players had a really fun weekend. In terms of our organization, our facilities, everything was great. But if you're a player coming in, how can you not come to Las Vegas and find something to do and enjoy yourself? We don't have an opportunity for guys who play the game to get away and go to the beach or whatever. Maybe Vegas gives the guys a little more of a break, and they can enjoy themselves.
Looking ahead to the second half of the season with the Golden Knights, I think we put ourselves in a good spot. The unfortunate injuries we've had, we haven't had a consistent lineup. I think top to bottom, we've done a really good job keeping it together, keeping our systems where we want. And obviously we have (center) Jack [Eichel] coming and that's going to be an exciting push not only for us, but for the fans to see him coming in. I know he's just as excited as everyone else.
We start play back Tuesday with a back-to-back at the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames (on Wednesday). It's not easy for anyone, whether you're playing in the [All-Star] Game or you're not. Some guys have had a week off. We've all done this for a long time. It'll be nice to get back to playing, but then we get another week off (Feb. 10-15). The schedule is going to be crazy, but we're looking forward to it.
