RALEIGH, N.C. — Avalanche center Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the losing Team Staal on Sunday at the NHL All-Star Game, while Colorado teammate Matt Duchene had a goal for the winning Team Lidstrom.
Also in Team Lidstrom’s 11-10 victory, Duchene took the first penalty shot in All-Star Game history in the third period after Washington’s Alex Ovechkin playfully slid his stick at the puck on a Duchene breakaway.
On the penalty shot, Du- chene went to his backhand as he cut to his right and past goalie Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, but Lund- qvist made the save.
“He’s a huge goalie, so I probably should have just tried to bury it five-hole,” Duchene said. “I was trying something different. I hit his skate. Maybe if I had backhanded it a little quicker, I would have had him too. He reacted really quick. He’s an amazing goalie, so good in shootouts.”
Duchene said he and Boston winger Phil Kessel were intent late in the game on trying to get the puck to Los Angeles center Anze Kopitar when the Team Staal net was empty, hoping to get the Slovenian a third goal for a hat trick that might have earned him the MVP award and an all-wheel-drive crossover vehicle to go with the car Kessel got for being the last choice in the Friday night draft.
“Kopie and I have become pretty good friends, and we kind of hung out together here,” Duchene said.
Instead, the MVP award went to Chicago winger Patrick Sharp, who had a goal and two assists for Team Staal. Dallas’ Loui Eriksson and Philadelphia’s Danny Briere also had two goals for Team Lidstrom, while Eric Staal and Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang scored twice for Team Staal.
Stastny played on a line with New Jersey’s Patrik Elias, which created some confusion because both wore No. 26, and Carolina winger Jeff Skinner, the youngest player in the game at 18.
“We were telling Skinner we wished he could be 26, so we could have three 26s,” Stastny said.
Stastny’s goal gave Team Staal a 2-0 lead in the first period, and Duchene’s tied the game 4-4 for Team Lidstrom at 16:30 of the period.
“For both of us to get our first goal in our first (All-Star) Game is just awesome,” Stastny said.
Footnotes.
Playing the third period and stopping 11-of-15 shots was good enough to get Boston goalie Tim Thomas the victory for Team Lidstrom, and he became the first goalie in All-Star Game history to get credit for the win three years in a row. Four goalies had won two years in a row. . . . Team Lidstrom’s captain, defenseman Nick Lidstrom, had one assist and was a plus-7. Defenseman Shea Weber of Nashville had four assists and was plus-6. . . . The 21 goals made it the fourth-highest scoring All-Star Game. The 2001 game in Denver — where North America beat the World 14-12 — remains at the top of the list. . . . Duchene and Stastny today will travel to St. Louis, where the Avs have a 2 p.m. practice and then face the Blues on Tuesday night.
