Dallas – Memo to the NHL: Mike the players.
Forget the game, Wednesday’s 55th NHL All-Star Game at the American Airlines Center might be remembered for the live, running conversation between third-period Western Conference goalie Marty Turco and television commentators on the fledgling Versus network.
Turco’s “Hold on” to the men in the booth – stopping his answer in mid-sentence to make a save – had some howling with laughter. From there, Turco’s ongoing question-and-answer dialogue made for must-see TV, and was more compelling than the 12-9 final score with the West victorious.
“It was a lot of fun. I had to be a little careful though. It was a straight-up conversation, live,” said Turco, the Dallas Stars goalie.
The NHL might have a solution to its long-running national TV ratings problems. How about hearing Peter Budaj give a dissertation on how he stopped a 2-on-1 for the Avalanche right after it happened? How about asking Joe Sakic live how he planned to win a big faceoff in the third period?
There was a “Why didn’t they think of this sooner?” buzz to the press room – but it remains to be seen how fans and other powers-that-be make such a thing a permanent part of the NHL, or just a once-a-year entertainment gimmick. At one point, Turco made a save while answering a question, which should give him the multitasking award of the year in sports.
Would Turco be miked up again for a regular-season or playoff game?
“That’s a tough call,” he said. “You’re playing for keeps then, for your team. That might be up to other people, but this was fun tonight. Hopefully, the fans got a chance to see a little of what it’s really like in a game as it happens.”
East goalie Martin Brodeur also talked live for the TV audience – but the perils of a goalie being wired for sound were exposed when a slap shot by Brian Rolston of Minnesota destroyed his microphone.
As for the game, it was the usual football score. Sakic, the grand old man of the West, set an All-Star Game record with his seventh multipoint effort, with four assists. He passed his idol, Wayne Gretzky, for the record, and now has the most assists (16) in all-star history.
“We had a lot of high-scoring All-Star Games earlier in my career when Gretzky and those guys played, too,” Sakic said. “Obviously, it’s a great honor to be mentioned in the same breath as him. It was great to have the game back tonight, after it was (absent) a couple of years. I think everybody had fun.”
Buffalo forward Daniel Briere took home the game’s MVP award and the accompanying new car. He had a goal and four assists for the Eastern Conference. Rick Nash of Columbus and Rolston had two goals apiece for the West.
The two players the league promoted before and during the game – youngsters Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin – were quiet offensively. Crosby was blanked on the scoresheet, while Ovechkin managed a second-period goal.
“It still was awesome to play on the same team with those two guys,” Briere said. “I was kind of the ‘other guy’ on their line on a couple of shifts.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
