Metropolitan Division Wins Three-On-Three Tournament at NHL All-Star Game in San Jose

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Harrison Brown

@nyislandersPhoto: @NYIslanders

The Metropolitan Division won the NHL Three-on-Three Tournament and the $1 million prize at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center in San Jose, California to conclude All-Star Weekend on Saturday night. They beat the Atlantic Division by a score of 7-4 in the Semifinals before beating the Central Division by a score of 10-5. 

Game 1 – Central vs. Pacific

Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen tucked in the first goal of the game on the doorstep 1:03 into the period, beating Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson.

Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog struck 30 seconds later after getting it from St. Louis Blues center Ryan O’Reilly on a nifty feed in front.

San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson went five-hole on Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne on a breakaway to cut the Central Division’s lead in half 5:21 in.

Predators defenseman Roman Josi put Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane’s pass past Gibson on a two-on-one.

Kane made it 4-1 after Josi sprained him on a breakaway and he went five-hole on the backhand 5:31 in.

Winnipeg Jets center Mark Schiefle put the puck above the blocker of Gibson on a breakaway to make it 5-1.

Rantanen beat Gibson top right corner on a breakaway with 7:50 in.

Kane made it 7-1 on a two-on-one 21 seconds later with Jets forward Blake Wheeler, going blocker side on Gibson.

Landeskog put it high glove on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury 10:42 in to make it 8-1.

O’Reilly scored on a backhand after Fleury pinched and came way out of the net to give O’Reilly nothing but net to shoot at with 7:30 to go.

Landeskog pulled off a Peter Forsberg move on a breakaway to make it 10-1.

Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau danced through the defense and beat Minnesota Wild netminder down low​ to get the Pacific back on the board.

Karlsson finished a give-and-go with Sharks center Joe Pavelski and buried the puck into a wide-open net to make it 10-3.

Sharks defenseman Brent Burns sniped one past Dubnyk from the left dot 10 seconds later to cut the Central Division’s lead to six.

Dubnyk made 16 saves on 19 shots and Rinne made seven saves on eight shots in the Central’s 10-4 win.

Gibson made two saves on nine shots and Fleury made seven saves on 10 shots.

Game 2 – Metropolitan vs. Atlantic

Prior to the game, Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby threw a puck to a fan of Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin over the glass.

Crosby sniped one past the blocker of Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy from the slot 15 seconds in.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones finished off​ a tic-tac-toe passing play to make it 2-0 for the Metropolitan Division 1:56 in.

Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel went backhand through the five-hole of New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist right off the bat the next shift.

Lightning center Steven Stamkos went through his own legs and beat Lundqvist to tie the game in the crease 3:13 into the game.

Jones roofed it on Vasilevskiy on a breakaway after picking Lightning forward Nikita Kuchertov’s pocket in the offensive zone with 19.4 left in the first half of the game.

Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner toe-dragged the puck and went cross-bar and in on Holtby 11:04 into the period.

Maple Leafs center John Tavares scored backhand on a breakaway, beating Holtby glove side 32 seconds later.

Crosby ripped a shot from the right circle glove side on Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard to tie the game.

Letang buried a backhand shot on a breakaway with 3:38 left to give the Metropolitan Division the lead.

After Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux got denied on a breakaway, he got the rebound and fed Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho who finished off the play to give the Metro a 6-4 lead with under two minutes to go.

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson slapped an empty-netter into the cage on a breakaway with 45.3 left in the period to make it 7-4.

Vasilevskiy made nine saves on 12 shots and Howard made 10 saves on 14 shots for the Atlantic.

Lundqvist made five saves on seven shots and Holtby made 11 saves on 13 shots for the Metropolitan.

Championship Game – Metropolitan vs. Central

New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal roofed a shot from the right circle over Dubnyk’s glove 22 seconds in to give the Metro a 1-0 lead.

Giroux followed up his own rebound and buried it glove side​ on Dubnyk to make it 2-0 1:53 into the game.

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang sniped the puck through the legs of Dubnyk 4:40 in after getting it from Crosby.

Jones was awarded a penalty shot after getting hooked on a penalty shot but wasn’t able to get a shot off of his stick on Dubnyk.

New Jersey Devils forward Kyle Palmeri buried Jones’ rebound into a wide-open​net after Jones was stopped on a power move to the net 8:16 into the period.

Crosby beat Dubnyk low glove side​ to make it 5-0 with 4.1 seconds to go in the first half.

Landeskog beat Holtby, waiting him out after faking a shot from the slot to make it 5-1 with 8:45 left.

Rantanen finished Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi’s pass from behind the net in front with 6:35 left to get the Central back within three.

Crosby redirected Letang’s pass in the crease and beat Rinne top shelf with around six minutes​ left.

O’Reilly cut the Metro lead in half whacking the puck from the slot to beat Holtby down low with 5:21 remaining.

Aho beat Rinne on a breakaway over the glove with 4:25 left.

Eight seconds later, Atkinson waltzed around the defense and beat Rinne to the left post.

Barzal sealed the win for the Metro, scoring an empty-net goal with 2:44 to go to make it 9-3.

Rantanen cut the lead to 9-4 with 1:44 left, going under the crossbar​ finishing a give-and-go with Landeskog.

Wheeler beat Holtby to the far blocker side with 1:10 to go to make it 9-5.

Atkinson scored another empty-netter to double the Metro’s lead with 51.1 left.

Lundqvist stopped all six shots he faced while Holtby halted 12 of 17 that came his way in the Final.

Like Lundqvist, Dubnyk stopped six shots… but faced 11 total, while Rinne stopped five of nine shots he faced in the Final.

Capitals defenseman John Carlson posted an assist and had a -1 rating in 6:23 of ice time.

Crosby took home All-Star MVP honors.

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077
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3 Responses to Metropolitan Division Wins Three-On-Three Tournament at NHL All-Star Game in San Jose

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