You want a goalfest? You've got a goalfest.
The NHL's Metropolitan Division claimed the All-Star Game title belt with a 5-3 win over the Central Division. The Mets previously defeated the Pacific 6-4 in the first of 2 semifinals, while the Cents crushed the Atlantic 8-5 in the 2nd semi.
Washington's Evegeny Kuznetsov opened things for the Metro just 27 seconds in. About 1 minute later, the Coyotes' Clayton Keller would tie things at 1 goal apiece. It didn't last too long, though, as eventual MVP Claude Girox scored his 1st of 2 goals to give the Mets a 2-1 lead at 3:33. The Rangers' Chris Kreider made it 3-1 Metro at 4:50. At 5:27, Colorado's Nazem Kadri got the Central back within 1. This would be the pattern for the following two goals by Metro Devil Jack Hughes at 7:55 to make it 4-2 and the Stars' Joe Pavelski at 11:19 to once again make it a 1-goal game. The Metro would seal things with Giroux's 2nd of the game to make it 5-3 Mets.
Semifinal 1: Metro 6, Pacific 4
Perennial villain Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals started the All-Star Final Four with a bang, needing just 13 seconds to make it 1-0 Metro. The Pacific would tie things with the Sharks' Timo Meier at 2:27. The Mets added a pair of goals afterward by Giroux at 3:08 and Carolina's Sebastian Aho at 3:17 to make it 3-1 Metro. However, the Pacific tied things up with 2 straight goals of their own, courtesy of the hometown Vegas Golden Knights' Jonathan Marchessault at 12:57 and Jordan Eberle at 14:27, tallying the Seattle Kraken's first ever All-Star Game biscuit in the basket. After that, the Metro scored another 2 straight goals, these efforts from Hughes at 16:16 and the Penguins' Jake Guentzel at 17:40. Hughes would add a 2nd goal after Guentzel at 18:51. The Pacific got one goal back courtesy of Vegas' Mark Stone at 19:38, but that was all for the NHL's farthest west division.
Semifinal 2: Central 8, Atlantic 5
It took a bit longer for the scoring to open in this one, as the first puck in the cage didn't happen until 2:20 when the Blues' Jordan Kyrou lit the lamp. The Panthers' Jonathan Huberdeau would tie things for the Atlantic at 1 at the 3:28, and then the Central responded with a pair by Chicago's Alex Debrincat at 5:25 and Kadri at 5:56 to make it 3-1 Cents. The Atlantic wouldn't go away just yet, though- goals by Toronto's Auston Matthews at 9:19 and the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron at 11:02 tied things at 3. The Central would respond with their own goal pair by the Jets' Kyle Connor at exactly 13 minutes and Kyrou's 2nd of the game at 16:36 to jump to a 5-3 lead. 12 seconds later, Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin put the Atlantic within 1 for a 5-4 game. The Central would respond 16 seconds after that though, with Nashville's Roman Josi making it a 6-4 lead. Tampa's Steven Stamkos once more got the Atlantic back within 1 at 17:33, but the Central would add 1 final goal pair by Debrincat's 2nd of the night at 18:07 and Pavelski at 19:53 to seal the deal.
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