Star-Studded Night Comes to a Close

Before I get into tonight's festivities, I thought I should mention an interesting story from Le Journal de Montreal, courtesy of Eyes on the Prize...

So apparently Ovechkin, Malkin and Phaneuf went out on the town on Monday night, the night before the SuperSkills competition. Upon arriving at a swanky Dallas bar, they were recognized and invited to partake in a little shooting contest...no, not this kind or even this one (although it is Texas, so who knows), but THIS. If it's true, it certainly explains why Ovechkin was so "slow" and why Malkin looked almost human in the YoungStars game!

But on to tonight - another All Star Game is in the books, and I have to say this was probably one of the more entertaining ones in recent years, at least from where I was sitting.

Just a few thoughts...

- Ovechkin gets his first career ASG goal, and not only was it not pretty, but it comes off an assist from none other than Daniel Briere. Wow.

- Aside from Ovie's lone tally, the much hyped duo of Ovechkin and Crosby was fairly ineffective. I thought that both he and Crosby looked a little overwhelmed and outmatched for most of the game; each of them had some nice plays but also fell victim to bad turnovers, missed passes and shanked shots. Oh, well. With experience comes comfort, and these two will have plenty of experience in the coming years. You know the NHL is probably pissed off that Ovie scored instead of Crosby, though.

- Briere got the MVP and the truck, which is so big compared to him that he'll probably need a couple of phone books to sit on. He played well, though, so I'm going to avoid any further snarkiness towards Mr. Briere...at least for now.

- Marty Turco mic'ed up. Priceless.

- Rick Nash was flying out there - now, he's a pretty good player in his own right, but you have to figure that playing on a line with Sakic and Havlat is going to do that for you. Still, two very pretty goals for the youngster.

- Dion Phaneuf has clearly been watching tapes of John Erskine. What a way to get your first ASG goal!

All in all, just a fun evening. I love watching the guys laughing on the bench, on the ice, after the game - old and young, they all seemed to be having a great time out there. It may not mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but it's a fun little break for both players and fans.

Friday night marks a return to reality and rivalries, though, as the Caps travel to Raleigh for the first of a home and home against the Canes. I'm holding my breath that we'll see the team that played the 'Canes right before the break, and not the team that showed up against the Panthers. Jekyll and Hyde, this team - so frustrating. Hopefully golf and Disney have done their job and gotten the boys ready for the playoff fight to come...