COLUMBUS, Ohio – John Tavares of the New York Islanders matched a record with four goals, and Team Toews beat Team Foligno 17-12 in front of a sellout crowd of nearly 19,000 fans at Nationwide Arena on Sunday night in the highest-scoring NHL All-Star game ever.
The wild, no-defense exhibition even featured a fake fight along with goals in bunches.
Ryan Johansen, of the hometown Blue Jackets, had two goals for the losing team but still won the MVP award in voting by fans on Twitter.
The 29 goals were the most in the event’s 60-year history, eclipsing the 26-goal burst in North America’s 14-12 victory over the World in 2001.
The NHL has determined the teams by a number of geographic and divisional setups over the 60 years. Just like on ponds around the globe, these lineups were determined by a player draft on Friday night.
Johansen pulled a kid out of the stands and guided him to a goal to win the breakaway challenge, and Nashville’s Shea Weber fired the hardest shot with a 108.5-mph blast at the NHL All-Stars skills competition on Saturday night.
Weber missed the net on his first attempt but made up for that with a shot second only to five-time winner Zdeno Chara’s 108.8-mph drive in 2012.
The team captained by Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno defeated one led by Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, 25-19.
Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks had the fastest time in the accuracy shooting and Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Drouin was the fastest skater.