All-Stars Offer Look to Past--and Future

VANCOUVER, Canada â€”  There were a few tantalizing hints of Olympic feats to come and a few reminders of glories long past, and those were reasons enough to declare the NHL’s new All-Star format a success and send everyone home happy Sunday after a lively and surprisingly well-played game.

“I don’t even know what the score was,� said left wing Keith Tkachuk of Phoenix and the North American All-Stars. “I had a great time. The intensity level was high and there were even a couple of bumps. It was awesome.�

For the record, the score was North American All-Stars 8, World All-Stars 7. Not that it really mattered.

What mattered was seeing Mighty Duck right wing Teemu Selanne, playing with fellow Finns and soon-to-be Olympic teammates Jere Lehtinen and Saku Koivu, electrify the crowd of 18,422 at General Motors Place by recording the first hat trick by a European player in All-Star history.

Selanne, playing in his fifth All-Star Game, became the first player on the losing team to be voted the game’s most valuable player since Grant Fuhr in 1986.

“It’s always nice to play with your countrymen,� Selanne said. “I’d like to see all of them in Anaheim.�

And what mattered to anyone with an appreciation for nostalgia was seeing Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky combine on a goal one more time, another moment made possible by the new format.

Messier’s goal, scored in his adopted hometown and on his 37th birthday, capped the North Americans’ comeback from an early 3-0 deficit and held up as the decisive goal when the World All-Stars scored twice on Martin Brodeur in the final 13 minutes.

“If it wasn’t for that one kid [Selanne], Mess might have had the car,� Gretzky said. “I said after the game, ‘Check his birth certificate.’ �

It was worth checking the calendar to see if time had reverted to 1988, when Messier and Gretzky combined on so many goals on four Stanley Cup-winning Edmonton teams. They skated up ice together on a two-on-one, with Gretzky fooling former Oiler teammate Jari Kurri and finding Messier in front of the net for a backhander four minutes into the third period.

“There’s just some magic sometimes that happens and never goes away,� said Messier, who was left off the Canadian Olympic team. “It just felt it was like yesterday.�

The real focus, however, was on the immediate future and the Nagano Games.

The international flavor of Sunday’s event lit players’ competitive fires, if not the Olympic flame itself. All agreed the format change from the old East vs. West games spiced up Sunday’s contest and infused a shred of national pride into the North Americans’ desire to rally from their early 3-0 deficit.

“I think it worked out well,� said left wing Brendan Shanahan of Detroit and the North American All-Stars. “I think the intensity of the game was upgraded from previous years. It’s never going to be like a Stanley Cup game, but it kind of established a rivalry.�

Said Brodeur: “Guys wanted to play hard, but you don’t want to hurt anybody. This isn’t the time to do it. This was a fun event, but I don’t think it’s like what you’re going to see [at Nagano]. That’s going to be more dirty hockey, more of an NHL style.�

The game Sunday was clean, fast and dazzling, quite possibly a hint of what’s in store at Nagano in a few weeks.

“This was a little practice, maybe, for the Olympics,� said Lehtinen, who had three assists, as did Koivu. “It’s good to have this experience.�

Said North American center Joe Sakic, who set up Scott Niedermayer for the goal that tied the score at 3-3 with 1:35 to play in the first period: “Actually, I thought this was a quicker pace than other All-Star Games. It was a pretty good game. This was pretty intense, but the Olympics are going to be more intense than this.�

Kurri, who will retire after this season, agreed the Olympics will be more emotional. However, he said that made Sunday’s game more enjoyable.

“This was fun, and that’s why you want to come here,� he said. “You make some plays, you score some goals. You don’t want to have those 2-1 games. Players want a fun weekend.�

So much fun that Finnish and Swedish players, who usually are heated rivals, buried their differences for an afternoon. “But it starts again right here,� Kurri said, laughing.

And Americans and Canadians, united for one day, go back to being enemies. “We were in it together today,� Tkachuk said, “but I’m sure there will be a lot of trash talking when we do play.�

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

How Ducks Fared

* Teemu Selanne: Right wing became first European player to score hat trick in NHL All-Star game and first member of losing team to be voted most valuable player since 1986. He was on ice for 14:27 and took seven shots.

* Dmitri Mironov: The defenseman had one assist, on goal by Jaromir Jagr. He was on ice for 19:37.