Crosby, Barzal have five points each, Metropolitan wins All-Star Game

SAN JOSE -- Sidney Crosby and Mathew Barzal each had two goals and three assists to help the Metropolitan Division win the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game with a 10-5 victory against the Central Division at SAP Center on Saturday.

Crosby had two goals and an assist in the 7-4 semifinal win against the Atlantic Division, and his eight points (four goals, four assists) earned him MVP honors.
"I had a lot of fun today," said the Pittsburgh Penguins center, who won a 2019 Honda Passport Elite as MVP. "I didn't need to win the car to have a good time, but it was certainly fun."
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Crosby became the Penguins' first All-Star Game MVP since Mario Lemieux won the award for the third and final time in 1990. Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup Playoff MVP at SAP Center in 2016 after the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks in the Final in six games.
He did not take part in the 2019 SAP NHL All-Star Skills on Friday because of illness.
"Maybe he is still sick, he could have had like 10 goals tonight, I don't know," Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang said. "That's how special he is."

Crosby scored with five seconds left in the first period to make it 5-0 entering intermission. He scored at 4:02 of the second period to make it 6-2.
Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen had two goals and an assist, and Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog and St. Louis Blues forward Ryan O'Reilly each had a goal and two assists for the Central, which reached the final for the first time in the fourth All-Star Game with the 3-on-3 tournament format.
The Metropolitan will split the $1 million prize.
New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made the save on all six shots he faced in the first of two 10-minute periods. Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals replaced him for the second period and made 12 saves.
"We were committed to win and I thought we played pretty smart," said Lundqvist, who made 11 saves on 13 shots in the two games. "It was a nice way to end this weekend. It's been great to be in San Jose. We really enjoyed it."
The Metropolitan scored 17 goals in the two victories. Coach Todd Reirden of the Capitals said the key to sparking the offense at 3-on-3 was managing ice time.
"We actually implemented a pretty good rule that for future All-Star Games coaches might want to consider," Reirden said. "The players, as soon as they scored, they were allowed to change. So then they were able to get off the ice and save their energy.
"So that forced them to think about scoring a little quicker than normal. So we had some fun with that one on the bench. That's what it's all about is enjoying the game."
Barzal, the New York Islanders center, made it 1-0 with a wrist shot that beat Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild at 22 seconds of the first period. He also scored to make it 9-3 at 7:06 of the second.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux made it 2-0 at 1:53 of the first, slamming home his own rebound on a breakaway.
Letang made it 3-0 at 3:40. He had a goal and two assists after scoring the winning goal in the 7-4 semifinal victory against the Atlantic Division.
New Jersey Devils forward Kyle Palmieri made it 4-0 at 8:16 of the first after Dubnyk slid out of position on a poke-check attempt.
"Obviously the goalies played great and it was awesome to see some of these guys up close as teammates, the kind of skill they have and who they are off the ice," Palmieri said.
Dubnyk started for the Central and made six saves. Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators played the second period and made six saves.
Landeskog scored the Central's first goal to make it 5-1 at 1:15 of the second period. He had three goals and an assist in the 10-4 victory against the Pacific Division in the first semifinal.
Landeskog said the Central players might have had a bit of trouble finding their legs after resting for about 90 minutes between the first game and the championship.
"If that's the excuse we can use, I guess we'll go with that," Landeskog said with a smile. "And also they had a well-rested Sidney Crosby on the other side. He didn't show up to the skills competition yesterday and he looked fresh out there."
Rantanen made it 5-2 at 3:25 of the second, one-timing a pass from Predators defenseman Roman Josi. Rantanen made it 9-4 at 4:38.
"They were more ready than us," Rantanen said. "It was 5-0 after the first period. It was pretty quickly over.
"They were just better."

O'Reilly made it 6-3 at 4:38.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho scored on a breakaway to make it 7-3 at 5:35.
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson made it 8-3 at 5:43 with the first of his two goals.
Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler made it 9-5 at 4:38.
For the second straight game, Atkinson scored an empty-net goal, this time with 52 seconds remaining to make it 10-5.
Columbus defenseman Seth Jones, who scored two goals in the semifinal, missed a penalty shot at 5:51 of the first. Jones was tripped by Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane on a breakaway.
It was the third penalty shot in All-Star Game history; none has been successful.
This was the Metropolitan's second time in the final. It won the event by defeating the Pacific Division 4-3 at Staples Center in Los Angeles in 2017.
"Everyone was having fun with it on our bench," Barzal said. "At the same [time], you want to win and compete a little bit. It's been great and we had a good team and guys that wanted to be out there and win. It was fun."