Tavares, Voracek enjoy record-tying All-Star nights despite missing out on MVP
COLUMBUS, Ohio — We need a recount! Just as Latvians and Chicago Blackhawks fans voted in droves for the NHL All-Star Game starting six, Columbus Blue Jackets fans inside Nationwide Arena on Sunday did the same for Ryan Johansen.
Even though Johansen and Team Foligno lost 17-12 to Team Toews, the Blue Jackets forward (four points) won Most Valuable Player honors after an in-arena Twitter vote. He's the first losing player to take home the car since Daniel Briere and his five-point night in 2007. He’s also the first player since Alex Kovalev in 2009 to win the award in front of the home fans.
But if there are two fanbases who might have some beef with the results it’s those of the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers. John Tavares joined Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Vincent Damphousse, Mike Gartner and Dany Heatley as the only players with four goals in an All-Star Game. Voracek, meanwhile, tied Lemieux’s All-Star record of most points with six with a hat trick and three assists.
So do the two Team Toews teammates feel robbed of a 2015 Honda Accord EX-L?
“Well, you score four goals I think you probably know you’ve got a good opportunity,” Tavares said. “But always nice to see the hometown guys do well. Ryan had some nice goals tonight, some nice plays. Definitely very worthy as well.”
“Joey deserves it the way he handled the weekend overall,” said Voracek. “Him and Nick Foligno, I'm sure they've been under the spotlight. Even at the skills yesterday, they did a great job. It was well-deserving.”
Despite going home without an extra car in the driveway, Tavares and Voracek had weekends to remember.
Voracek returned to Columbus, where he began his NHL career, saw some old friends and showed why he currently leads the league in scoring. Afterward, he called the weekend the “most fun in hockey that I’ve ever had.”
Tavares’ historic All-Star night was another moment for Islanders fans to smile about this season. As the second half gets set to begin, they can look atop the Eastern Conference standings and find their team.
Team Toews tried to get Tavares a record fifth goal, but he lost an edge on his skate and had trouble accelerating. But that's okay, as four ended up being memorable enough for Tavares.
“You certainly won’t forget a game like that.”
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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