Clubhouse Article

NHL All-Star Report: Ottawa 2012

January 31st, 2012 by Aaron Murphy

Latest from Ottawa! Aaron Murphy goes 1-on-1 with John Tavares, wraps up his Ontario road trip at the 59th NHL All-Star game, and finds out just how much Senators fans love Daniel Alfredsson!

“Murph on Ice” here! I was in Ottawa to report behind the scenes from the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL® All-Star Game and associated events at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Read my reports and watch video of the big names I interviewed including Stamkos, Yandle and Weber.

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Murph goes 1-on-1 with Islanders’ John Tavares and wraps a fantastic weekend in Ottawa at the NHL All-Star Festivities.

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Sunday, Jan 29th: Scotiabank Place, Ottawa – 59th NHL All-Star Game
The atmosphere was absolutely electric at the Scotiabank Place for the 59th NHL All-Star Game.

There were many different storylines, the Leafs versus the Senators, Swedish players against the Slovaks … and of course Daniel Alfredsson!

He was easily the most popular person in Ottawa this weekend, and tonight was no different. His ovation was what you’d expect for rock stars and movie legends. … and DA is a rock star and a legend!

As the action got underway in the first period, it was clear that Team Chara did not want to let Alfie and company use the crowd influence as fuel for the fire!

Big Z’s team roared out to a 3-0 lead on the strength of 2 goals from the Rangers’ Marian Gaborik. It appeared as though the hometown favorites might be in a spot of trouble from the get go, as Henrik Lundqvist was under early siege. But as it often goes in the All-Star game, momentum can change in the blink of an eye.

Team Alfredsson came storming back and actually outshot Chara’s squad 14-12 in the period. As the dust settled on the opening stanza it was deadlocked 3-3. The most exciting moment in the first was a Steve Stamkos penalty shot spin-o-rama, a gutsy move by the Lightning sniper, but Jimmy Howard was up to the task and denied him.

“I just went for it and tried to have some fun,” Stamkos told me later, “Jimmy made a nice save, maybe I should have just shot!”

Gaborik picked up in the second period where he left off in the first, finding the twine to complete the hat-trick and put Team Chara up 4-3. It was a neat passing play, and Jonathan Quick didn’t really have a chance between the pipes.

There was some Bronx cheers from the Ottawa faithful in the second, as hated Leafs rival Joffrey Lupul buried the puck to make it 5-3. Phil Kessel with the nice pass to Lupul, and the crowd acknowledged their displeasure with the two Toronto All-Stars.

The unhappiness didn’t last long though! The man himself – Daniel Alfredsson – took the game on his shoulders scoring two beautiful goals late in the period to give his side a 6-5 lead. It will be a long time before I forget how loud the crowd was here on both tallies! As I mentioned earlier, this guy is a living legend in this city, and he was delivering the goods to the delight of his admirers.

Fellow Swedish star Henrik Lundqvist had nothing but admiration for Alfie, stating, “As a friend, teammate and fellow countryman, it’s very cool to see how much they love Alfredsson in Ottawa.”

With 20 minutes to go and the score knotted at six, how would the script play-out in Canada’s capital city?!

For all the cheers an Alfredsson goal was bringing, there were equal jeers for Phil Kessel! He scored a beauty top shelf over Brian Elliott and the booing commenced straight away. Again no love lost between Ottawa and Toronto!

It was then time for some more heroics from a team captain. This time is was the big man, Zdeno Chara, breaking in to take a pass, beating Brian Elliott high to give his club a 10-8 lead with seven minutes to play. For a guy that stands 6’9, and shoots the puck 108 MPH, he sure looked graceful on this play!

“It was a nice pass, and I think I surprised everyone pinching in,” Chara said, “I wanted to score and I’m glad I could step up there and help my team.”

This goal seemed to change the momentum entirely, and the wind dropped out the Team Alfredsson sails. No matter how much the crowd urged on the team in red, it was not to be. And despite some chances at the end for Alfredsson to get the hat-trick, he just fell short of victory as captain, and perosnal MVP honors.

The final score was 12-9 for Team Chara, and Marian Gaborik with his four points (3 goals, assist) was the deserving MVP.

“Overall I think we had a lot of fun,” Gaborik said afterwards, “I’m glad I could play along with Marian (Hossa) and Pavel Datsyuk, and I was glad Zdeno picked me in the draft.”

An incredible weekend celebrating the game, and the city of Ottawa did itself proud from beginning to end. It was a pleasure to be here and see how happy the city and the Senators organization were to host the hockey world.

“Everything’s been positive. We’ve been put on a pedestal pretty much the whole weekend,” a smiling Alfredsson told the media afterwards, “We’ve tried to get back and tell everybody how good a city this is, the fans we have, the good facilities. This is a great sports city.”

Indeed the captain’s words sum up a fantastic NHL event here in Canada’s capital city.

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Murph has an exclusive 1-on-1 chat with NHL goal scoring leader Steve Stamkos. They break down some of the highlights from the NHL Super Skills Competition in Ottawa.

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Saturday, Jan 28th: Scotiabank Place, Ottawa – NHL Skills Competition
What a night in Ottawa! The fans here at Scotiabank Place got their money’s worth of entertainment throughout the NHL Skills Competition!

The Fastest Skater relay was won by Team Alfredsson, with impressive showings by Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson. Phil Kessel received the loudest round of jeers and booing as the rivalry between the Senators and Leafs evident even in a fun event like this one in Canada’s capital city.

A highlight for me was the Breakaway Challenge. This is a chance for these guys to really show-off their skills and creativity. It’s also an interactive component of the night, as fans can vote for the winner via emails and twitter. The fans on hand were also quite vocal, and the mood was good for this one.

Patrick Kane stole the show a bit wearing a Superman cape, and Clarke Kent spectacles, turned Brian Elliott inside out, and scored from his belly like he was flying! Corey Perry also with some showmanship – stopping halfway to discard his regular stick, and breaking out a kid’s mini-stick for a neat goal.

The online voting then commenced, and the winner was Patrick “Superman” Kane with 47% of the overall votes.

It was then on to the Shooting Accuracy event. This one is always interesting as participants try and go 4-for-4 hitting the corner targets. Ray Bourque and Mark Messier loved this one back in the day, and the 2012 winner was Jamie Benn. There was a head-to-head format here, with Benn (Team Chara) meeting Matt Read (Team Alfredsson) in the final.

The Skills Challenge Relay really sheds some light on the incredible array of weapons that these guys possess! Players are selected to demonstrate their one-timing ability, passing accuracy, puck control, accuracy target shooting and this is all timed as a team event. Team Chara was up first, and clocked an impressive 2:45. Pavel Datsyuk was phenomenal for Team Chara in the puck control portion through the pylons. Team Alfredsson then stepped up – and Henrik Sedin stole the show with his long-range passing accuracy into tiny nets. Team Alfie dominated here with a 2:28. In the second heat Team Chara scored a 2:14, but Team Alfredsson was once again on form with a 2:08, for a bonus point in the overall team competition.

The Hardest Shot has quickly become the favourite event of this whole celebration. Daniel Alfredsson received a huge ovation for his 101.3 in the heats, helping his own cause with a point for the standings. In a mini battle of Ontario, Dion Phaneuf received the Bronx cheer as he went up against the Senators Jason Spezza. This one wasn’t close as Spezza thrilled the home crowd with 100.5 MPH. The moment everyone was waiting for was up next! Defending Champion Zdeno Chara holds the record with 105.9, and his closest rival is Shea Weber. They stood up and delivered as Chara broke his own mark with 108.8 – the crowd went bananas! Weber was game and clocked a 104.9. With those superhuman marks in the books, Weber and Chara meet in the overall final. It was Chara winning the title and keeping his crown for another year.

I spoke with the big man after the event, “It’s an honour to do this in Ottawa and break my record. I have great memories of my time here in this city, and it was a great time in my career, so to have this result tonight is extra special in front of these great fans.”

The final event of what was a fantastic evening here, was the Elimination Shoot Out. Basically every player gets a breakaway – score and you stay in the competition – miss and you’re out. It’s a bit of a blitz for the goalies, but Tim Thomas and Henrik Lundqvist looked good in this one! An early surprise was the elimination of Pavel Datsyuk and Tyler Seguin. NHL goals leader Steve Stamkos was pretty impressive in this one, showing why he is leading the league in scoring with 32. The sentimental favourite was of course Daniel Alfredsson – but unfortunately he was eliminated halfway through. The two men left standing were the Sabres Jason Pominville, and Stamkos. After their one-on-one showdown, Stamkos was crowned the Shoot Out champion.

Team Alfredsson dominated the event and took the overall title over Team Chara 21-12. Alfie was gracious in victory when all was said and done, “this was an incredible experience here tonight. As always the fans were great, and to do it in front of such a loud home crowd is something I won’t forget, we just need another win tomorow in the game and I’ll be happy,”the Swedish star told me.

Despite the loss to his side, big Chara was by far the highlight of the night here at Scotiabank Place. Next up – the 59th NHL All-Star game Sunday! Follow us here in the Clubhouse, as I continue to bring you behind the scenes from all the action in Ottawa.

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Murph catches up with the Coyotes Keith Yandle to chat about the NHL All-Star Festivities and what to expect from Phoenix down the stretch.

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Friday, Jan 27th: Ottawa Convention Centre – NHL Fan Fest

I had the pleasure of taking a trip down to the NHL Fan Fest Friday afternoon – and I can tell you the spirits were high there! NHL fans were treated to three floors teeming with plenty of interactive games and promotions. You could also test your abilities in shooting accuracy and see how hard your shot is. The NHL does a good job with these sort of gatherings, and the result here is a huge success.

“Our kids will sleep well tonight,” Mike from Gatineau told me, “they’ve been into every game they come across and are enjoying all the other kids and the compeitions.”

Seeing a packed house here today with families and school groups – despite a big snow fall at the moment – proves that this is for the fans. The NHL recognizes that the fans are their biggest asset – and a Fan Fest such as the one I witnessed today looks good on the league and their sponsorship partners.

It was a real treat for the senses of the adults too – with music and beer stands and a look down memory lane – with historical moments around the conference rooms chronicling the past 20 years of the Ottawa Senators.

“We’ve had some ups and downs over the past few decades, but this team is a huge part of this community,” Paul from Ottawa said, “they’ve played better than I thought that they would this year, so it makes hosting this event even better.”

Indeed the Senators have been a pleasant surprise in the Eastern Conference this season, and are right in the playoff mix. This province would lose the run of itself if the Sens and Leafs were somehow to magically meet in the playoffs later this year. The battle lines were already drawn and evident at last night’s Fantasy Draft as Ottawa Captain Daniel Alfreddsson didn’t pick a Leafs player, and Joffrey Lupul assisting Zdeno Chara ignored the four Senators (they did take Sens rookie Colin Greening). So there’s no love lost there.

Up next for the ESPN America crew here in Canada’s capital city is Saturday’s NHL Skills Competition. We’ll have full ‘behind-the-scenes’ coverage throughout, so come back and join us here in the Clubhouse and our exclusive coverage from the NHL All-Star game and festivities.

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Thursday, Jan 26th: Hull Casino – NHL Fantasy Draft

Pavel Datsyuk was the 1st pick in the NHL Fantasy Draft. Logan Couture won a car for being the last pick! When it was all said and done, Murph chatted with Predators Captain Shea Weber about the NHL All-Star experience!

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Thursday, Jan 26th: Hull Casino – NHL Fantasy Draft

Well the ESPN America team is here at the beautiful Hull Casino for the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft! The Captains have both addressed the media throng here as they prepare for the actual business end of things.

Zdeno Chara was keeping his cards close to his vest – but assistant captain Joffrey Lupul had a little bit more fun with us here, “even if a guy gets picked last he gets a car, so it’s really not that bad. Phil still has his car, so I don’t think he cares about being last.”

The Senators contingent took the stage too, and when asked how they’d feel if Daniel Alfredsson doesn’t pick them later tonight Erik Karlsson exclaimed “I’d be pissed!”

All in good fun, and all the players seem to be in good spirits, though you can’t help feeling that a few guys may be just a little nervous about being chosen last overall.

In any event a good vibe here amongst the media and the players.  And the weekend only gets better as once the teams are selected we get down to the skills and the big game on Sunday. Follow along here in the clubhouse all weekend as I bring you behind the scenes of the 59th NHL All-Star Game and Festivities in Ottawa.

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Wed, Jan 25th: ESPN SportsCenter, Bristol CT

ESPN’s NHL analyst Barry Melrose on Alex Ovechkin missing the All-Star Game …

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Wed, Jan 18th: ESPN America Clubhouse.

Murph On Ice will take you behind the scenes from all the action in Ottawa at the NHL All-Star Weekend!

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WHO’S WHO IN OTTAWA 2012?

36 ALL-STARS & 12 ROOKIES ANNOUNCED FOR 2012 NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND
The National Hockey League has announced the full roster of players named to the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend, Jan. 26-29 in Ottawa.

A total of 36 All-Stars and 12 Rookies were selected by the NHL today, joining the first six players elected by fans in 2012 NHL All-Star Fan Balloting™ presented by Sirius XM: Daniel Alfredsson, Erik Karlsson, Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza of the host Ottawa Senators, Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins.

The 42 All-Stars will play in the 2012 Tim Hortons NHL® All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 29 at Scotiabank Place.

The 12 NHL Rookies, along with the 42 All-Stars, will participate in the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ on Saturday, Jan. 28 at Scotiabank Place.