MVP Auston Matthews leads his team to NHL All-Star victory

Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterFeb 3, 2024, 07:16 PM ET

CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

TORONTO — Playing in his home arena, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews stole the show during Saturday’s NHL All-Star Game tournament, authoring an MVP performance and capping off a revamped weekend of festivities at the league’s annual showcase.

Team Matthews eliminated Team McDavid with a 7-4 victory in the 3-on-3 finale, sending the fans, many donning Matthews jerseys, home happy from Scotiabank Arena.

“I look at these weekends as a time to have fun,” Matthews said in his on-ice, postgame interview on SportsNet. “Obviously, we’re all competitive here, and I think a weekend like this brings out the best in everybody. And like I said, I couldn’t have written it up any better than this.”

Saturday’s action included four All-Star rosters — determined by captain selections in Thursday night’s player draft — icing two preliminary games, the winners of which went onto a third and final matchup.

Matthews, with co-captain Morgan Rielly, also of the Maple Leafs, and celebrity captain Justin Bieber; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, alongside co-captain and his teammate in Denver, Cale Makar, and celebrity captain Tate McRae; Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, with co-captain and teammate Leon Draisaitl and celebrity captain Will Arnett; and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, with co-captains Jack Hughes, his brother and star from the New Jersey Devils, and Elias Pettersson, also of the Canucks, plus celebrity captain Michael Buble; chose the squads Thursday.

Those lineups were put to the test on Saturday. Team McDavid defeated Team MacKinnon 4-3 in a Game 1 shootout to advance, later joined by Team Matthews, after it topped Team Hughes 6-5, also via shootout.

That set the stage for a final headliner by McDavid — the hometown skater and $1 million prize winner from Friday’s skills competition — and Matthews, a star centerman loved…

Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39453561/mvp-auston-matthews-leads-team-nhl-all-star-victory

Author : Kristen Shilton

Publish date : 2024-02-04 00:20:38

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