With $1 million in prize money awarded to the winning team, the intensity picked up in the final. Eichel assisted on a Hedman goal to open the scoring just 24 seconds in, splitting a pair of defenders as he collected the puck behind the net and then feeding Pastrnak, who passed across to the defenseman.
The Atlantic went into the second period with a 3-1 lead, which was quickly erased by goals from Vancouver's Elias Pettersson and Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl. The two teams traded goals to make it 4-4 late, until San Jose forward Tomas Hertl broke the tie with 2:36 remaining.
"Both teams were playing pretty hard," Eichel said. "I mean, there's money on the line. Everyone's competitive."
"You get more and more serious as the games went on," added Hedman. "Both teams wanted to win. We still probably gave up six, seven breakaways so I don't know if it was that tight, but it's a lot of fun."
In spite of the outcome, the game marked the conclusion of a memorable third All-Star Weekend for Eichel. He spoke upon arriving in St. Louis on Thursday about his love for the event and his appreciation for his fellow All-Stars.
Perhaps more importantly, it was a valuable mental break from the long grind of the season. The Sabres had their bye week lead into the All-Star break, giving them seven days away from practice or games. They enter the final stretch of the season with nine of their next 10 games at home.
"It's a competitive race right now," Eichel said. "It seems like we need to go on a little streak, start winning some games, string some good efforts together and good things might happen. For us, we have a lot of home games coming up right now, just want to start it off on the right foot and go from there."