"We were ready to go," said Wild forward Eric Staal. "I guess they didn't have a very good showing last year, so the boys were a little bit amped up to try and do a little better. Obviously a couple of empty nets. We had fun, it's a great weekend altogether. Would have been nice to keep playing but we'll keep looking forward to the rest of the season."
Things looked good early for the Central. Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon scored the opening goal and Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne stood on his head in the opening 10 minutes, as the Central led 1-0 at the break.
"That's the Central, just check teams right out of it," said St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn. "But we had fun. It was a good pace out there, guys were working still while having fun. Great event and a great experience."
The offense picked up in the second half of the period, but the Central Division was on the short end.
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty scored on a breakaway before Vegas Golden Knights forward James Neal finished a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play to give the Pacific its first lead of the game.
Predators defenseman P.K. Subban finished a breakaway of his own to tie it with under three minutes to play, but Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser, a Burnsville native, snapped a shot past Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for the eventual game-winner.
"I think we were trying to open it up a little more than we did," Schenn said. "Goals weren't coming easy, I don't know if it was the long break or what, but we got them going there in the second. It was a fun thing to be a part of it."
San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns and Neal each scored empty-net goals as the Pacific played for the $1 million grand prize for the third-straight season.
Staal did not figure into either of the Central's goals, but had two shots on goal in 5:15 of ice time. He also had three solid defensive plays, clearing loose pucks from the crease area in the first half of the period.
"I was working hard to keep the puck out of our net," Staal said. "A couple poke checks my brother would appreciate. Would have liked a couple of shots back, tried to bury one. It was quick, it was fun but I enjoyed the whole week."
Rinne (four saves) and Hellebuyck combined for nine saves on 12 shots.
Vegas' Marc-Andre Fleury (seven saves) and Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Smith stopped 14 shots total. Smith also had an assist.
Edmonton's Connor McDavid finished the first game with four assists. MacKinnon had a goal and an assist for the Central.
"It was fun. Tried to make it competitive," Staal said. "It was a good start for us but petered out a little bit, but it was fun. 3-on-3 format, it's pretty open out there. It's different in an All-Star atmosphere, but still some chances both ways, goalies were pretty good."
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