Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2007-01-26 From: Xinhuanet

BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhuanet) — The National Hockey League All-Star game took a cue from the NBA and abandoned any thought of defense Wednesday night in Dallas, Texas, as the Western Conference sacked the Eastern Conference 12-9.

The contest was billed as a spotlight for young sensations Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, but it was Colorado’s Joe Sakic who stole the show. Sakic, making his 12th All-Star appearance, had four assists.

Sakic was MVP of the 2004 All Star game, the last because of the owner’s lockout in 2005 and the 2006 Olympics, after scoring three goals.

“It was a wide-open game with a lot of goals,” said Sakic, who captained the West squad. “I don’t know what more you want.”

The 19-year-old Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who was the top vote-getter for the All-Star game, leads the NHL in scoring with 72 points. Ovechkin, the 21-year-old Moscow native, was Rookie of the Year last season and has 65 points this season for Washington. His 29 goals are one shy of the league lead.

Crosby and Ovechkin started on the same line and played most of the game together for the Eastern Conference, but just never could get into the flow. Ovechkin’s goal in the second period was the only point between them.

“There were 21 goals, you think I would have had one,” Crosby said, jokingly. “I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I had a few chances, it just didn’t work out.”

Gretzky, the only other teenager to lead the league in scoring, was also 19 when he made his first All-Star appearance in 1980 — and was also held without a point.

Gretzky went on to become the NHL’s career scoring leader.

Well-traveled Yanic Perreault of Phoenix, Columbus’ Rick Nash, Minnesota’s Brian Rolston and Martin Havlat of Chicago each had two goals for the West.

Daniel Briere, one of three starters from Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo, started the game on the line with Crosby and Ovechkin. While the youngsters struggled, Briere had a goal and four assists and was selected the MVP — playing the rest of the game with a different duo.

“With Sidney and Alex being the future faces of the NHL, I was kind of the other guy with the two,” Briere said. “I had fun. I played one shift early on with them to start the game. But I don’t think it really matters who you play with here. There’s so many talented players.”

The game was a high-scoring affair, befitting post-lockout rules and new streamlined uniforms designed, in part, to make the players faster.

Sakic’s four assists pushed his All-Star total to 16, surpassing Mark Messier’s record 14 in 15 games. Sakic moved into third on the list of All-Star points with 22, trailing only Gretzky (25) and Lemieux (23).

Besides all the fresh faces, the players looked different wearing new uniform systems that the NHL and Reebok tested and designed for more than two years. There were nearly 100 different versions before they came up with what the stars wore — and all 30 NHL teams will use beginning next season.

It’s the biggest change to NHL uniforms since the early 1960s, when synthetic fabrics replaced the old wool jerseys. The difference in the new streamlined uniforms was obvious. Instead of bulky tops, the players looked like they were hardly wearing any pads.

“Felt good,” Crosby said. “I thought the first period, you could feel it a little bit. But after that, it felt comfortable and obviously you could tell everybody is not soaked out there. So that’s a nice feeling, too.”